


Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Seasons of Heaven

by SGMijumaru



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Action, Adventure, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Romance, YA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2020-12-17 05:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 223,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21048884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SGMijumaru/pseuds/SGMijumaru
Summary: An innocent school student, a timid cheerleader, an intelligent amnesiac, a spunky pop star, and a reserved mercenary. When fate brings these ordinary Pokémon together, a dramatic new story begins.Set in the futuristic world of Aseria, these Pokémon live comfortable lives at the ease of technology. But life in Aseria wasn’t always this way. When Pokémon discover that the traditions of Aseria’s history can grant them powers beyond their imagination, greater battles than the world has ever seen are set in motion.The futuristic mythology of modern Aseria clashes with ancient legends as the world’s leaders fight for dominance of the planet. Caught in the middle of the conflict, only our fated cast can see the destruction these great battles will bring. But they must learn the hard way that becoming heroes is not the only solution.





	1. The Encounter

**Episode 1: The Encounter**

** **

Wingull chirped, waves crashed, and a strong wind pushed at the ship’s sails. It wasn’t storming, but the wind was enough to kick up some hefty movements on the ship’s surface, tilting the floor every which way with an irritating rhythm.

Most of the Pokémon aboard made a fun game out of it, twirling around the masts and trying to avoid holding on as much as they could. The bipeds kept falling over and hurting themselves on the wooden planks, while the quadrupeds were having a time of it, tumbling and rolling like they were walking on ball shaped wheels.

An Umbreon, the teacher of this class and the one controlling the ship, was only advocating it. He held a special wheel in all four of his paws. With the ship’s wheel below him, his hind legs helped to steady his movements while his front paws took advantage of every heavy whoosh of air that passed the ship. He kept turning the whole thing left to right, causing the ship to bounce and swerve in a direction resembling straight ahead, all the while laughing and calling out to his students in jest. Coincidentally, this did have them going faster than if they would try to stay on course.

But for Lute, this was the worst trip he could’ve asked for. A weekend at sea on a classic sailing ship with a captain this rowdy had him struggling to keep down his breakfast, even though the Eevee was sat stiffly right in the middle of the ship. He kept his eyes shut, body flat, and still he felt like his stomach was going to fly out of his mouth.

“Hey c’mon Lute, you’re missing out on all the fun!” his Jolteon buddy called out, rolling over on his right. He was balanced by a Flareon who was only trying to steady himself, which in turn made fellow classmates call for ‘cheating’. It all looked dumb to Lute, though.

He opened one eye. Just seeing the floor tilt made him gurgle. But someone bumped into him, and he could’ve sworn he spewed something out. It took a moment to balance himself, and then he was back to zoning out of this seasick nightmare with a single complaint in his mind. “_I hate boats._”

“Lutey, c’mon and join us! Don’t be a weakling,” Jolteon called out again, getting thrown in the other direction. Flareon laughed with him, reaching out to try and snatch the Eevee from his spot in the middle of the ship.

“Guys leave him alone!” a girly voice squeaked. It was just loud enough to catch everyone’s attention, barely even Lute’s. A short Minun was stood over him, hands by her mouth and feet knocking together. “You know he’s not feeling well. So, so…”

“Aww, this is only to make him get stronger. Say Infia, why don’t you join us?” Jolteon replied, smiling cheekily. The Minun shuddered, holding down her skirt as another brush of wind passed.

“I-I-I don’t want to, either,” she said so quietly that Lute could barely hear her. “N-not everyone has to get strong, you know.”

“Not gonna be able to hear ya unless ya speak up! C’mon!” Jolteon said, diving forward to snatch them.

“R-Raiju, wait!” Flareon called out, but another tilt of the ship caused them all to tumble. They all managed to link paws against Lute and Infia’s wills. The next thing they knew, Lute really did lose his breakfast.

…

“And that’s what happens when you don’t listen to your friends,” Flareon groaned, a snide look at the Jolteon.

“Hey it’s not my fault Lute decided to be seasick,” he replied, still smiling, fangs showing and all.

“That’s not- forget it. Raiju, you’re such an airhead,” Flareon said, rolling his eyes.

The four of them were lined up at the front of the ship while the messes were being cleaned up behind them. Now that the ship wasn’t moving and they were docking at a port, Lute looked a lot better. He was a little taller than a regular Eevee, helped in part by the spiky curls of fur styled around the back and top of his head. His young complexion contradicted that confident hairstyle and size, but that was thought to be caused by his lack of will to evolve.

“I hope you’ll stop and listen to your friends from here on, Raiju. If you see your friend is sick, I’ve got to know. I would’ve stopped if I knew,” Umbreon said.

“Okay, I admit I was wrong. Sorry Lute, sorry Anbi sir,” Raiju replied, hanging his head.

“Oh so now you apologize. Not the numerous times I kept telling you the same thing?” Flareon said.

“Well, Anbi’s the smart one, Cinder. We’ve got to listen to him.”

“And I’m not?”

“Oh you’re smart too! Just not as smart as Anbi.”

“Good grief,” Cinder said, rolling his eyes again.

“Now, Lute. I understand you were seasick the whole trip? I really wish you’d told me sooner. You still took notes and things, right?” Anbi asked, addressing the Eevee directly.

“I did. Infia helped me out a lot, too,” he nodded.

“Thank you, Infia,” Anbi said. The Minun shifted away to hide her face, blushing brightly. “Pokémon used to travel the world on sailing ships like the one we used this weekend. Seasickness was a common thing for them.”

“Really? How did they cope?” Lute asked.

“Many ways, but most of them lived with it. Travelling by ship like this was the only way for many Pokémon to travel the ocean, so they didn’t have a choice. This was after the Lapras became a free species. And of course, now we don’t even rely on ships and sea travel anymore,” Anbi said, turning to the side. “The best way to learn history is to get experiences like this. I’ve always felt that it’s important to learn that way. The hardships Pokémon went through and why we elected to change those methods to make life easier for ourselves.”

“Wait is that all? Couldn’t we have just learnt about sailing ships some easier way?” Cinder asked.

“Yes we could have. But you learnt about how they were built, how they work, and then got to experience life on one. That’s the _best_ way to learn. Now, I hope you understand where Pokémon have come from when they decided to stop using these,” Anbi said.

Lute looked around at the ship’s details. “Even though I was seasick the whole time, I kind of liked this. We were close to the sea the whole time, and at night it was really pretty. The fact that Pokémon used to use this all the time… history is so interesting.”

“That’s the spirit, Lute!”

“You can be such a nerd sometimes,” Raiju groaned.

“I hope you feel the same way, Raiju. All of what we learnt here will be on next week’s test,” Anbi said, half-lidded.

Raiju’s fur stood on end. “Y-yes sir! I got it; I sure do.”

“You _sure_ do,” Cinder said, half-lidded.

“Good. Then if you’ve got all your stuff packed, you’re all dismissed. I suggest one of you go with Lute so that he gets home safely.”

Lute groaned inside at that remark, zoning out as he got himself ready for the trip home. It wasn’t to be a long one. He lived somewhere in the middle of the cosy town of Everend, an easy walk from the port. This area was such a simple and populated spot that there weren’t any feral Pokémon. The biggest danger was falling into the river that ran alongside the road, but to do that, you’d have to be trying to dive in.

History sounded dangerous in comparison. Dangerous but exciting. Apparently, Pokémon his age had to be walked home by their parents, traversing mystery dungeons filled with equal amounts of treasure, traps, and foes alike. Something like that would at least keep him awake during a casual school week.

But real life wasn’t like that. He only had his imagination and dreams to go off of. He sighed as he folded a scarf into a small bag, knowing that nothing of his interests would ever actually happen here. He’d just stroll home, wave to the neighbours, eat dinner, and then get ready to do it all again tomorrow. Not that he was complaining – things were exactly as they should be.

“There you are! Geez, I thought you said you were feeling better? You took four seconds too long!” Raiju cried once he stepped off the ship. “So how about it? Who’re you walking home with? It’s gonna be Infia, isn’t it? It’s Infia!”

“Sorry,” Lute groaned, swaying his head.

“Why would it- Raiju, this isn’t a competition,” Cinder said, putting him down. “That said, I live in the opposite direction, so…”

“Let’s just walk,” Lute said, implying a shrug.

“Nah-uh! What if you and Infia wanna spend quality time together?”

“R-Raiju!” Infia squeaked.

“I don’t need anyone to walk me home. You can come with me if you want, but there’s no need,” Lute said, ignoring them to walk by.

“I think that means he wants her,” Raiju sung, nudging Infia. She slapped him back, pouting on the spot.

“S-stop it! Why do you always have to be so… ugh, no!”

Lute turned to see her running away on all fours, tilting his head. “What’s up with her?”

“Told you not to push her,” Cinder said, shaking his head. “Look Raiju, just make sure Lute gets home okay, alright? I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Will do captain! See ya soon, too!” the Jolteon saluted. Lute glanced between the three of them until Infia was gone, confused until Raiju pulled him back along the main path.

The road back home was as quiet as expected. Fencing on the right to separate the road from the river, distant plain on the left that led to fields and the one-off farm, and then the soft, grainy road that led into the town. There were a few turns every now and then, but with such wide-open space and controlled greenery surrounding them, there was no worry of getting attacked or losing your way.

Lute lost himself in his thoughts while his friend yacked away nonstop, drowning out the topics of food and hot classmates in place of what he’d learnt on the trip. The idea that sailing ships were a standard was unheard of to him, so it sparked all kinds of visions in his mind. Were there roads marked along the sea somehow? Were there any mystery dungeons that a ship would need to go through? How did Pokémon other than quadruped Pokémon control them?

He sighed and leaned to the side as they reached a hill that let them look over the fence at the river. Maybe there were small ships specially made to travel down rivers or something. He was about to have fun with that thought, but something took his attention. Or rather, someone.

“Wait, that’s,” he said, scrambling to step back a few paces. He hopped up to lean over the fence, and there they were. A four-legged Pokémon stood on the other side of the boundary, right by the edge of the water. “There’s no reason to be there.”

“Huh? What’d you spot- oh my good Grookey there’s someone there!” Raiju cried, nearly falling over the fence. They both observed for a while, an inner concern growing as the figure edged closer and closer to the water.

“Wait, don’t go in!” Lute cried, climbing over.

“Lute, what’re you doing?” Raiju said, stopping him. “They probably just work there or something.”

“It doesn’t look like a water type. And Everend River is fine. Maybe they need our help?” he said.

“I er- look I’d wanna look around as much as the next guy, but the tide’s gonna come in, and you were just sick an’ all…”

“If the tide’s coming in, we’ve gotta get them,” Lute said, jumping over. Raiju moved to follow him, stopping on top of the fence.

Lute slid down the hill on the other side of the fence, scratching himself on twigs and stems as they passed him. But he did reach the Pokémon in the nick of time thanks to that, finding them less than a centimetre from the water. “H-hey, is everything alright?”

The figure half turned at his voice. An Eeveelution for sure, though it wasn’t one Lute had seen before. On first inspection, it had all the features of a Sylveon: sleek, smooth, cream-coloured fur tipped with colour, and long, rounded ears. But where there would be pink, this Sylveon was blue. Their eyes were a light burgundy.

The Sylveon look-a-like didn’t say anything. It didn’t blink or show any threat either, but one of its feelers did move. That feeler went to its lips, as if telling Lute to hush. He didn’t know what to say anyway, and stared back.

Content he wasn’t going to do anything, Sylveon returned to its task. This section of swampy ground stopped here, but it continued on the other side of the river where it ran beneath the hill of the main path, creating a cave.

“I er,” Lute said, ready to freak out as the Sylveon took a step forward. Rather than falling right into the water, bright light formed below its feet, each light enlarging into bright blue diamonds marked with cryptic symbols. The diamonds grew as Sylveon walked, creating a path that floated on the water and led right to the other side.

Lute scratched his eyes. Was he dreaming? Was he still back on the ship with Raiju and the others, sleeping off his seasickness? He had never met a blue Sylveon before, let alone one with magical powers like these. It wasn’t until the diamond platforms began to crack and fade away that he shook himself off and leapt across them.

“Lute wait! Lute!” Raiju cried out, skidding down to the spot where he just was. By the time he got there, Lute was on the other side keeping his eyes on the Sylveon. The platforms were gone. “What the heck’re you doing?”

“I-I’m gonna follow it. I’ll meet you back in town,” Lute called back, dismissing his friend to catch up.

What was he saying? This cave ran well away from town. He knew that from what the grownups had told him. And when the tide came in, the cave would be drowned, inaccessible by anyone other than water breathers. He was throwing himself into danger.

“Hey, excuse me, but—”

Sylveon didn’t need to turn around to silence him. Two feelers rose up and then stretched in his direction as he approached, snatching him around his waist before he could realise they were after him. He was hoisted around to the Pokémon’s face, which was unimpressed.

“I thought I told you to be quiet?” Sylveon said, revealing her young voice. Considering her height and weighty shape, he wasn’t expecting her to sound around his age.

“Wa-wait, you’ve got to listen to me,” he said, his feet scrambling to try and get out of her grip.

“I’ll drown you.”

“It’s important! The tide’s going to come in.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, dipping him into the water beside them.

Despite her warning, he didn’t prepare himself for that submerging. He coughed underwater as its chilling touch filled his mouth and nose, getting a hold of himself enough to grab her feelers around his waist. He gurgled and struggled to pull, very quickly getting to the state where he needed air at all costs. He focused mainly on trying to stretch his head up, but no matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t pull his head beyond the surface.

Sylveon stared down at him coldly, and he caught full glimpse of that. She didn’t even look like she was putting effort into holding him there. “If you promise to keep your mouth shut, I’ll let you out. Will you do that?”

He let out another cough of bubbles, but he nodded, and she kept her promise. He coughed and sputtered as she let him down behind her, making her roll her eyes. “So much keeping quiet. Now go home. And forget what you saw here.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but given what just happened, reconsidered. A quick glance back reminded him that the way he came now involved somehow beating the river’s current, making that a no-go. If this was still a dream, it was turning into a nightmare.

“Stop breathing so heavily. You’ll draw attention to yourself,” she said, continuing on her way. Lute frowned, knowing he couldn’t do that one. Just being soaked like that made him feel like his lungs were shrivelling up.

He’d heard about this cave from adults, but he’d never actually been in it himself. It was a stark difference from the everyday path he was used to, with its lack of light, uneven flooring, and wild greenery. Everything was so soggy and muddy that his feet sunk with every step, like he was walking on a murky sponge that stained his feet. He couldn’t hear the wind either, only the running river and leaks from the ceiling.

Sylveon had no visible problem with trekking deeper inside, to his surprise. She walked with a light gait, avoiding falling into the mud even when she stopped to get her bearings. He wanted to moan about how she had that advantage, but she was far too busy making quick, snappy decisions about which way to go whenever they reached a turn.

He thought it would be an easy path that just ran alongside the river, but they were reaching hard, ninety-degree splits, some of which Sylveon didn’t seem to think twice on. Some ten minutes later, she stopped at a corner that was far darker than the others. It reeked of urine, here.

“So the callout was right. There are Pokémon here,” she said, coiling two feelers together. She unfurled them with speed, releasing an orb of energy that brightened the place up.

Lute couldn’t help but gasp. The natural swampiness of the cave was still present, but now there were pipes, tiled walls, and other stations of unrecognisable machinery. Two Pokémon spun around at the surprise lighting, both Frogadier smothered in mud.

“Ah! Wait, it’s just a bunch of kids,” one of them said. “L-listen. I dunno how you kids got here, but you shouldn’t be here. This here’s a mystery dungeon. Get out while you can.”

“This is a mystery dungeon?” Lute cried. Sylveon glanced back at him, and he clammed up again.

“Cut the small talk. You’re a little too close for my liking. So get out, or I’ll make you,” she said.

“Wait, I think we shouldn’t—” Lute spoke up, silenced by another glare.

“There’s brave talk coming from a little girl. Respect your elders.”

“Always with the little girl rubbish… the dated ones always end up being the ruffians,” she said, stepping toward them. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“We’re the ones who warned you!” the Frogadier shouted, leaping toward her. Lute cried out and turned tail, but there was no need.

Sylveon tripped up the first one, whipping it with one feeler and shifting aside to make it leap past her. Then she revealed more of her magic on the second one, holding one feeler in front of her as if to guard her face. Similar to the diamond platforms she made earlier, a shiny shield formed around the feeler, which the Frogadier crashed into. The shield was bigger than his height, letting her use it to bash his face and knock him away.

“Wha-what?” Lute whispered, scratching his eyes again. She dealt with any attack that Frogadier threw at her with the shield, effortlessly blocking Bubble Beam and Smack Down alike. He watched in awe until the first enemy got up and growled at him, making him freak out. “Wait wait wait I’m not- ahh!”

The next Bubble Beam was fired at him, forcing him to dive away. He fell right into the muck and cringed, disgusted by it sticking to his mane and underside. That left him open to a second attack that pinned him face first into the mud, and he had a spitting fit. Up his nose and even tasting it a bit, he couldn’t have felt sicker.

“Forget it bro, she’s way too strong!” One of the Frogadier called out, stopping Lute’s battle. “We weren’t finding anything here anyway. We’ve gotta move closer to the temple!”

“Got it. You know what to do. Pull the switch!” his comrade said, nodding. He turned to Lute and backed off. “You got lucky this time, kid. Or maybe not. Whatever. Next time you’ll respect your elders!”

They hopped away after that, but not without pulling the largest lever attached to the machines they were working on earlier. Sylveon allowed them to, relieving her shield when it was clear they were gone. For the first time since Lute started following her, she inspected the machines with curiosity on her face, though she didn’t make any comments.

“Urgh, it’s all over my mane and tail… Mum will never let me hear the end of it at this rate,” Lute complained, getting Sylveon’s attention. She gave him a snarky smile. “Hey it’s not funny! I stink now, too.”

“I didn’t think that ordinary civilians were that afraid of Spirle,” she said, tilting her head.

“Wait… those two were from Spirle? Are we thinking of the same Spirle?” Lute gasped.

“They were only grunts. At the end of the day, they were no better at fighting than the average Pokémon,” she said. A sudden rumbling set off another round of panicked squeals from Lute, making Sylveon roll her eyes. “For goodness sake.”

A wave of water high enough to cover their feet brushed over them. Sylveon looked up at Lute with widened eyes for only a moment, and then a whole torrent of river water came right at them, forcing her to act fast. She only managed to form her magic shield again before they were both taken off their feet, thrown along the current of water filling the area they just explored.

For Lute, all he could do was brace himself for the worst. He kicked his feet to try to ascend, but the water forced him down, sending him every which way along the cave path. His efforts only resulted in him gurgling, flipping, and spinning, crashing into walls every now and then. He had no idea what was going on or where he was being sent. His eyes were shut the whole time and his body was in a constant panic.

What felt like minutes later, things seemed to calm down. He was still deep in the freezing, dirty river water, but he had stopped flipping, left with his head upside-down. Struggling for breath, he made a desperate break for the surface. It didn’t look like there was one, but he went there anyway.

A thin air pocket. A small space where the water didn’t fill just big enough for him to fit his head into. With all the soiled plants hanging from the ceiling too, he could hold on and hang there, half submerged in water. He breathed frantically, claustrophobic from being forced to keep himself here. He knew he couldn’t stay here, either. Not with the water still trying to pull him along.

“Sylveon! Raiju? Someone, please!” he screamed at the top of his voice. He gave in after a few more desperate twitches, taking the deepest breath he could muster.

Back underwater, the current had weakened but still felt like an annoyance to swim against. He let it push him along while he scouted for the Sylveon, but all he could see were bubbles and dirt swirling around in the water. The actual riverbed was indented into the floor below, where rocks jutted out. He hugged one to stay in place and look around properly, finally spotting the mysterious fairy type. Her head was lodged right into the mud at the deepest level, where only her feet were showing.

“Sylveon!” he cried, kicking off the rock to swim down to her. He regretted opening his mouth just there, but he knew that she’d need oxygen more than him. By the time he reached her, he felt his chest beginning to tighten, telling him to find his way back to that air pocket. He glanced up to check where it was, but he couldn’t see it.

“_After I free her,_” he told himself, grabbing her hind legs. But her head wouldn’t come free as easily as it looked, and he began to panic. “_Please, gods please_!”

He positioned himself on the slippery wall beside him and gripped her waist properly, pulling so hard it earnt a growl, and then a gasp as soon as she came free. Lute cringed with the hard swallow of water that came with that, eyes shutting, feet scrambling, his whole body aching like nothing he’d ever felt as large bubbles escaped from his gurgles.

Fortunately for him, the current had pulled them both along after he freed them, allowing him to latch onto the Sylveon. She floated toward the surface as the current carried them both, so all he had to do was fight unconsciousness and resist all the pain surging through him.

It seemed to last forever. His eyelids were forcing themselves closed as his mouth refused to do the same, letting out gurgling coughs that sparked the aches in his muscles. His body just wanted to do everything it shouldn’t be doing when he was trying to avoid drowning, breathing in water until they finally floated up to a surface. The instant he felt his head come free, he let out a coughing fit that he wasn’t sure was ever going to end.

The river was still carrying them, but it was slow enough to gain some control. It hurt to breathe, so Lute focused on reaching the nearest floor he could, pulling the unconscious Sylveon with him. He couldn’t regain his breath even though he leaned against the floor to do so, bringing up enough strength to throw Sylveon up onto the muddy floor. He joined her a moment later, collapsing beside her as an aching heap. Here, he was happy to give in to his body’s urges and pass out.

.


	2. Aspirations

When Lute came to, he was repulsed by the state he was in. His fur was sticky, drenched, and marked all over with stains of the mud and moss of the surrounding terrain. He brushed and shook himself off as much as he could, but it made little difference. Once his lack of energy made itself apparent, he focused and looked around. He was still in the cave by the river, but it looked like the current had calmed right down compared to earlier. The water didn’t look as deep, either.

“Wait, Sylveon,” he whispered, searching the ground for her. She wasn’t too far from him; though she was just as dirty, still unconscious but breathing. On closer inspection, her head had some red marks beneath her drooping, messy head fur. Lute dared to move that fur out of the way, revealing an awful cut.

“She’s still bleeding?” he gasped, beginning to panic a bit. He was surprised to find his bag poking out of the mud near where he woke up, but he thanked the almighty he found it and rummaged through it. It was a waterproof drawstring bag that he’d gotten his mother to sew tighter for him, letting it seal airtight. Thanks to that, his scarf and souvenirs inside were untouched, if a little damp and cold.

He didn’t think twice to grab the scarf. He struggled to move Sylveon around thanks to her size, but sitting her up so that his hind legs held her head straight let him concentrate on tying the scarf around her head. He barely got to tying the actual knot when she started to squirm and moan however, and he slowed down.

“Are you?” he muttered. Her eyes slowly opened, meeting his face upside-down. That made her blink, and then she noticed his legs beside her face.

“Argh what the heck!” she cried, throwing herself upwards. Her forehead hit his chin hard, and then the two were stumbling around in tears and pain. “A-ah… what was that for?”

“What’s that for? Why did _you_ do that?” he cried, realising he was getting more dirt on his face. “Gah, no! But it hurts…”

“I mean what do you think you’re doing? Eek, ow,” she squeaked, retracting a paw from her head. A feeler went to touch it next, which only caused cringing.

“Y-yeah, er… your head was bleeding a bit so I was going to use my scarf to help or something,” he said, calming down.

“Your scarf… a scarf is not a bandage!” she cried, pulling a feeler away to reveal the light mark of blood. “Damn it’s bleeding and everything… what’d I do to get that?”

“You hit your head really hard when we fell in the river, I think. I found you at the bottom, passed out.”

“When we fell in the river,” Sylveon mumbled, going blank. She looked around then back at him, gritting her fangs. “What the hell?”

“What?” he said, flinching.

“When ‘we’ fell in the river? What the heck were you doing with me that brought me to this dank, dark… I don’t even know where we are. What is this place? Were you trying to do funny stuff with me?” she said, stumbling around. She stomped with her steps, quickly realising she’d sunk her feet into the mud. “Argh it’s gross!”

“Wait but I- you,” Lute trailed off, staring at her.

“What?”

“I was f-following you! You were by the river and used that magic to cross the water. I got stuck with you until you confronted those Spirle Frogadier, and then all this water came in and swamped us over here. We barely made it,” he explained, shaking his paws. Sylveon looked more and more lost with every word, eventually giving him a furious look.

“I dunno what you’re talking about, but just- okay, whatever. I’m gettin’ outta here,” she said, searching side to side. She chose to walk in the opposite direction the river was heading in.

“That’s the wrong way!” he cried, sticking a paw out.

“Oh yeah? How do you know?”

“We were carried by the river. That means we’ll be going back on ourselves if we go in the opposite direction of the current. If we follow the current, we’ll reach wherever the river meets the sea,” he explained. “But I know this cave, too. If we can get out of the cave, we can find our way back to town.”

“Then I’m counting on you, genius,” she said, strolling toward him. Lute watched until she was right behind him, where she slapped him lightly with a feeler. “Well then? Get moving if you know the way out.”

“I just… wait I’m so confused. Why am I leading now?”

“Because you’re the one that got me into this mess, you’re the one that knows the way out, so therefore, you’re the one that’s gonna take responsibility and get me out,” Sylveon said, half lidded. “And don’t try anything funny. I know how to snap necks.”

Lute cringed at the thoughts that put in his head. He couldn’t help but feel bullied by the statement, but when he turned to start their trek, he realised that part of it was true. This Sylveon was clearly very powerful and was busy taking on some important mission. If he had actually listened to her rather than worrying about his own judgement, he wouldn’t have gotten stuck in the river cave and she wouldn’t have had to account for him when dealing with those Frogadier.

Still, one problem at a time. Right now, he needed to keep walking and find that exit. He was either going to throw up thanks to the amalgamation of stenches, or not knowing whether it was mud or dung his feet kept sinking into. He felt hungry, weak, dirty, and above all else, worried about what was going to happen next. Suddenly not knowing was the scariest thing.

“Are… you going to tell me why you came here?” he asked after a while of walking. There was barely a change in the surroundings.

“That’s a funny question to ask. But I’m fairly sure it’s none of your business.”

He went quiet for a moment. “What’s your name?”

“Also a funny question to ask. But this time, it’s just because you’ve got to tell me yours, first,” she said, a light smile showing on her face.

“I’m Lute. I’m a student at Everend school, in my last year,” he said, smiling as well. “_Phew, we’re getting somewhere now_.”

“Lute. That’s… a good name. I’ll remember it,” she replied. She started to slow down, raising her head. She murmured a few thoughts when Lute slowed down for her, soon grabbing her head with a feeler. “I… can’t think straight. You’ll have to forgive me.”

“Is your head still hurting? My scarf’s still clean, if you want to use it.”

“Not it’s not that, it’s… I… don’t know. I-I can’t think of my own name right now,” she said, downing her ears. “Oh gods, I don’t know my own name, I don’t know why or how I’m here, I…”

“Whoa, are you okay?”

“I am I just… I honestly can’t freaking remember anything. I just…” she stumbled, coming to a complete halt. “This is a mystery dungeon.”

“Huh?” Lute replied, turning back. The cave had begun to slope and open out, creating a room with the indented river running through the middle. Several paths split all over, and an influx of Rattata could be heard scuttling around. Most of them blended in with the dark colours, so each little hint of their presence made his fur cold. “Is this really what a mystery dungeon looks like? This is impossible.”

“Well here we are. You said you know this place though, so I’m still counting on you.”

“I know the cave, but mystery dungeons aren’t supposed to exist anymore. We have the technology to get rid of them!” he cried.

Sylveon’s face tensed. “The technology? What’re you on about now?”

“The authorities got a grip on mysteriosity waves and now control them. Because of that, they were able to stop terrain from shifting and creating these dangerous dungeons,” Lute explained.

“Well we can clearly see that this is a mystery dungeon. There’s no arguing that. So less questioning, more getting outta here,” she said.

He opened his mouth to respond but realised that she was right again. Thankfully for her, this wasn’t a situation he didn’t know how to deal with. Well, he had never been in a mystery dungeon before, but being so obsessed with them meant he knew a thing or two about them. Like how the layouts may have been random but could be exploited to find the exit quicker, or that the corridors were the worst places to be.

“_This dungeon was in the middle of Everend Cave’s main path. Therefore, if we keep following the river, even the mystery dungeon won’t be able to distort the natural geometry,_” he thought to himself, examining the room. Surely enough, the path of the water followed its own corridor, and one that looked like the path they had been following thus far. He nodded sternly and trotted off, Sylveon following a little more nervously.

“Confident strut, watertight bag… you look like you know what you’re doing,” she said.

“I’m just going by the river theory I had before. Even if a mystery dungeon somehow formed, it can’t stop the river’s natural path. It can only distort it a bit.”

“See that honestly makes no sense to me. Aren’t mystery dungeons natural? They’re dungeons!”

“It’s just technology stuff. I don’t fully get it myself, but we don’t have them anymore,” Lute said, swaying his head. “Apparently, mystery dungeons used to be all over the world of Aseria. But scientists got to understand how they work and how to stop them from being so convoluted. Eventually, we turned them into normal caves and forests, where we then got to turn them into normal places where Pokémon can live. So Aseria’s not supposed to have any mystery dungeons in it.”

“And you know this because… being a scientist is your dream?” she asked, a hint of smugness in her tone.

“Being a hero! That’s what I wanna be more than anything in the world!” he said, bouncing. He stopped when the mud below him splashed.

“A hero?”

“Yeah! There’s this really cool team of Pokémon called the Agents of King’s Shield. They help Pokémon all over the world by rescuing them and fighting criminals and stuff!” he said, smiling brightly. “They have the funnest adventures, and all of them are so cool. It’s been my dream to join them and have those adventures too, helping Pokémon in need. That’s why I do my best to learn all about the past and the battles they—”

“Alright alright. But less like a superhero and more like a nerd using science and logic to save the day,” she said, rubbing her head with a feeler. “_Why does all this seem new to me? If he’s not lying and I came here, then how comes I…?_”

“S-sorry. Yeah I guess. I learnt all about mystery dungeons even though they’re not in our world anymore because I find it all interesting and stuff,” he snickered.

“Well once again, we’re in one. So it kinda paid off,” she said, beginning to huff. She felt light and weak, her vision going blurry. If it wasn’t for her stopping to try and get a hold of herself, she wouldn’t have noticed the camouflaged Rattata sneaking their way around her. She tried to flinch when she realised where they were headed, but barely managed greater than a stumble. “Lute, stop!”

“Huh? Are you okay?” he asked.

“In front of us! Right in front of us!” she cried.

Her tone made Lute spin around and cry out, but thankfully he picked up on them before he stepped into their trap. The mud-covered Rattata had bundled together a few paces in front of them, barely visible thanks to the darkness. He could just about make out their teeth and eyes when the rodents glared at him, countless pairs of fangs and eyes piercing through the darkness with a white sheen. Each Pokémon was only half his size, but with so many of them together, they resembled a swarm of bug types.

“Waah, do they want to fight us?” he cried.

“You idiot of course they do. They’re feral Pokémon! Knock ‘em all aside with a wide attack,” Sylveon said, stretching her feet out.

Lute hesitated, trying not to look too afraid of them. A few teeth gnashed together and then three of them lunged at once, latching onto his mane. He wailed like a baby, shaking them off and running back to Sylveon’s side. They barely hurt as much as he thought they would since they only hit his looser fur, but he was still cringing and shivering.

“Get it together! Use Swift or something,” she said, stepping backward. The Rattata screeched at them, so she growled back. “Damn feral rats.”

“I-I—”

“Please don’t tell me you can’t do Swift.”

“I-I’ve never been in a real fight before!”

“I thought you said you wanted to be a hero?” she cried, shaking her head. She leapt forward, keeping her eyes on the snarling rats. “Forget it, I’ll take care of this.”

“S-Sylveon!” Lute cried. He leaned out to her, only to be reminded that his worries were unfounded. The same three Rattata darted toward her with Quick attack, but were felled by an easy slap from one of her feelers. She tried to hop to the side to dodge a few others that jumped at her afterwards, but the mud slowed her down and they managed to latch to her side. She winced but pulled them off as if she didn’t get bitten at all, resisting the pain of their Bite attacks.

But then their predicament resurfaced. Sylveon moved to use an attack, instead stumbling forward as if she tripped up. The Rattata even moved out of the way in expectation of an attack flying out, but nothing came but a curse and a furious look on Sylveon’s face.

“S-Sylveon?” Lute said.

“I don’t remember my moves! What’s your excuse?” she shouted without looking back. The enemies exchanged a quick conversation, gathering together to lunge at her again. She guarded her face with both feelers, but they bit into her feelers and dealt more damage.

“Oooh, please work,” Lute muttered, shivering. He tensed up then shook himself, channelling his energy into his front paws. Bright stars flashed beneath them, and with a high jump into the air, he threw those stars toward the enemies. There were only two stars at the time of charging, but out came a whole flurry of them; white, flickering, five-pointed stars of energy that showered the Rattata in flashes and blasts. They squeaked and turned tail, fleeing back into the dungeon.

“S-see? Was that so difficult?” Sylveon said, her head hung.

“I-I didn’t think I was strong enough to… I got lucky because they were so small and scared,” Lute replied, blinking at the fleeing Rattata.

“We should go before they come back. Or any other feral Pokémon,” Sylveon said, huffing between words.

“Are you okay? O-one of them must’ve been poisonous, oh no!”

“It’s not poison damn it,” she raised her voice. She ended on a groan and stumbled side to side, coming to halt by leaning on the wall. Her feelers all wrapped around her body and her face was going pale. “I don’t seem to have any strength left. I could barely walk before but now I…”

“Oh no… They must’ve all used Super Fang.”

“Super Fang?”

“It strikes nerve points to drain away half the energy of the target. If all of them used it, it’d take away so much energy!”

“… I think it’s just that I’m ready to pass out from hunger,” she huffed. “Walk already. We better be close to getting out.”

“O-oh. I don’t have any snacks with me th—”

“Just walk!”

He definitely felt guilty, now. She groaned as she followed him, trying to drown out what sounded like her stomach growling. Thinking about it now, he felt far hungrier than usual, too. Goodness knows what the time was. The cold wind could only hint of sometime late in the evening. It was that discomforting cold that came from an autumn night where it would hint of the oncoming winter.

Then it hit him. The wind. His eyes widened and he followed it, making an effort to walk faster. He could do so because the mud was beginning to level out and became shallow. The damp feeling in the air had been drying up without him even realising it, too.

“Please tell me that’s the exit,” Sylveon said, staring straight ahead. He was doing the same but had to squint to realise that the cave mouth was looking out into the distance. He could barely tell due to it being so far away and blurry.

“Yes!” Lute cheered, breaking into a gasp once they reached the exit. They found themselves in a quiet plain that didn’t have much to it besides the largest open space he’d ever seen. The world mostly went downhill from here, letting them look out to the surrounding grassland. But that was all they could see on almost all sides, pure grassland with the river swerving through it.

At the furthest distance, something tall and sturdy could just about be made out. It stretched beyond the clouds, only visible due to being a different colour to the night-time sky. In the direct opposite direction was the town that Lute recognised, putting a jolly smile on his face.

“That’s it, there’s Everend. We’re almost home!” he said, bouncing happily.

Sylveon walked around him to get a good look herself. It was dark and cloudy, so most of the town was only tall silhouettes with warm window lights glowing. She stared for a while and then gazed around at everything else, an entranced look plastered all over her face.

“I er… erm,” Lute spoke up. She didn’t look like she had his attention. “You… you’ve lost your memory, but you know where to go, don’t you?”

“I don’t. It’s weird, but it’s almost like… it doesn’t make any sense, but it really feels like this is the first time I’ve ever seen the world,” she said. “I’m gonna faint if I don’t eat, too.”

“Come with me!” Lute said, She stared at him straight faced. “It’s sort of my fault that we got lost in Everend Cave like that. I can’t just leave you like this, either. I’m sure Mum will help, and even if she doesn’t, I’ll make it up to her. Plus…”

“… Plus?” she replied.

“… Back there, I’ve never had an experience like that before. I like, actually got to do something heroic because of you. A battle, an exploration, a rescue… Was it really Spirle you were after?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember. But either way, you’re such a kid,” she groaned.

“Please let me stick with you!” he raised his voice, bouncing up to her height now. “If I stick with you, I can help you get your memory back. I want to, especially if it leads to more exciting things like that.”

She turned to the side, staring at the town. “It’s not like I have a choice.”

Lute took a breath and looked down. “You do. I’m sure you’ll remember stuff soon. I’ll do everything I can to help.”

“Where do I even start?” she asked.

“We’ll give you a place to stay, then we can worry about that later. But for now, you need food, and I’m sure Mum’s freaking out about me right now.”

“If you’re _really_ okay with it, then okay. Thank you, Lute,” she said, bowing her head. “_I can’t believe this… this feels so uncool._”

“Follow me! This is gonna be so much fun,” he cheered, hopping away towards the town. He was laughing with glee, bringing her mouth to the floor.

“Seriously?” she cried out, hopping after him. “_Whatever’s actually going on, he’s right. I’m here now, I don’t remember anything, not even what the world looks like. All I have to work with is what Pokémon tell me and what I see._”

She slowed down into a casual walk, keeping a few paces behind him. “_I can figure something out with this. I know I can. Why I was in that cave going after those… Spirle Frogadier, he called them. Whoever I am, I’ll figure it out._”


	3. Infia

“I’m impressed, Lute. You managed to do somethin’ crazier than me!” Raiju cried, throwing himself over the Eevee to nuzzle him. Lute squirmed and threw him off, but not before a light crackle of static made Lute’s fur stand on end. “O-oops. Sorry.”

Lute and Sylveon had gotten home much later into the night than they expected, somewhere near midnight. Marina, Lute’s mother, had been waiting for him outside the house with bated breath. Raiju had told her what happened to him, and since then, the Vaporeon had been restless. A few anxious shouts and motherly rambles later, and the lot of them had calmed down.

“And this is her,” Marina said, turning to Sylveon. Sylveon struggled to stare back. She looked so weak that it was a wonder she was still standing. “Goodness, Lute! You’re not what I call a troublemaker, but when you make trouble, you really put me in it, you know?”

“A-ah, I just… sorry. But I really don’t know what else we can do. Please Mum, we have to help her,” he begged.

“That’s not what I meant,” Marina said, turning to Lute. “Couldn’t you have at least found fruit or something on the way home? I’m going to have to prepare a meal, and at this hour.”

“Oh… uh—”

“Yes, that means she can stay. Now go in and get something for her before she passes out!”

…

Lute lay back in a dog bed unable to stop thinking about it. It was hard to believe everything that had happened, but it did, and he was being made to treat it as though it were a normal occurrence. Sylveon slept in her own bed on the opposite side of his bedroom, which he was now being made to share. Two days had passed since she’d been allowed to live there, and her messy nature was already showing.

He couldn’t sleep, turning over to tiptoe to her side of the room. She was sprawled out in a position he was sure would give her aches in the morning, surrounded by many of his old toys and anything else she’d taken apart in his room.

The night after she arrived, Marina named her ‘Sophitia’, which the Sylveon happily accepted as a name. The two days afterwards, Marina had the two of them doing chores while she rearranged the house so that the new addition could live with them. Only Marina left the house, and no one new came to visit. He yawned in silence, stretched, and then slumped back into bed. Sophitia might’ve been happy with this casual reaction, but he wasn’t.

“Something bothering you?” Sophitia asked, making him tremble. “Don’t try anything funny. I’m letting you look after me, but that doesn’t mean touching me in my sleep.”

“Ew, why would I even want to?”

“Excuse me?”

“No I mean- that’s just creepy. Forget it,” he said. She made a stifled giggle. “I just thought we’d be trying to find out who you really are or something. I was hoping that’d feel more like an adventure, but it’s just… us at home. It’s boring.”

“Ah, so you’re bored. But who is this whole thing about?”

“… You, of course,” Lute said, looking down.

“Exactly. Sorry this isn’t super exciting for you. If anything, once I get back on my feet, I’m outta here.”

“You want to leave?” he said, getting up.

“If I remember who I am, I will. So don’t get used to me. Right now, I’m just in your way.”

“But you’re—”

“That’s all for now. Get some sleep,” she said. He groaned but obeyed, laying back down.

The next morning…

“School?” Lute and Sophitia cried.

“Yes. Back to school for both of you,” Marina said. “Hurry up and get washed, breakfast will be waiting for you on the table.”

“I mean I understand him, but me?” Sophitia said, pointing to herself. Marina giggled.

“Maybe you don’t believe it, but you and Lute are the same age. It just makes sense to put you both in.”

“What’re you gonna ship us or something? I’ve got more important things to do!” Sophitia raised her voice.

“Wait, Sophitia? You’re the same age as me?” Lute gasped.

“And going to school ought to refresh your memory of the way this place works. Even if it doesn’t, it’s a legal requirement of me as your parent to ensure you’re in education,” Marina said, ignoring him.

“You’re my parent now?”

“Guardian. Carer. Whichever one you like best,” Marina said, smiling. “Now hurry up! Or I’ll burn your pancakes.”

“Burn my- I call dibs on first bath!” Sophitia squeaked, leaping away.  
“Wa-wait, I gotta use the bathro- Sophitia!” Lute cried, getting barged out of the way. He lunged after her and the two began to squabble, trying to push each other aside. Sophitia got the upper hand thanks to her feelers, locking him out. “Sophitia, I mean it! I gotta go!”

“You’re a guy. Just hold it!” she called from behind the door.

“Easy for you to say,” he grumbled. Marina turned and snickered to herself.

The morning would proceed to be as eventful as that from there on. Sophitia had apparently never seen a domesticated bathroom for Eeveelutions before and so took longer than necessary, stole some of Lute’s breakfast, and all the while Lute took too long to reorganize his belongings and wash. Before long, the two of them were sprinting through Everend to get to school on time, all the time squealing and barking arguments at each other. Sophitia still had a half-eaten pancake sticking out of her mouth by the time they arrived, and swallowed before entering the school grounds.

One of the tallest buildings in Everend, even though it was only two floors high by the looks of things. It was widely fenced in by a playground and park surrounding it, located somewhere in the middle of the town. She’d followed Lute, but even with that, it’d take a while to remember exactly how to get there from Marina’s house.

The thing that was more confusing to her was the blatant mismatch of theme. The playground and field surrounding the school was mainly made up of wood; cleverly constructed apparatus built into soil and the like, exactly as she expected a children’s park to look. But the school building looked like something out of a sci-fi dream, being a perfectly square block made of metal and glass that was so shiny her reflection could be seen on it from a distance. It didn’t even look good to her.

“Well, we’re here. It’s all you, Lute!” she said, dismissing the thought.

“Wait what?” he replied, turning to look up at her as she walked around to follow from behind.

“You’re the returning student, I’m the new one. I’m counting on you to show me around, buddy.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, I can do that,” he said with shifty eyes. “Well you’ve obviously seen the playground and stuff. The gates get locked, so you’ve gotta jump pretty high to get out when lessons are in progress. Don’t try to.”

“Well duh. Why’d I wanna leave?”

“There’s a field on the other side we use to practice Pokémon moves, too.”

“You guys practice attacks? But wait, didn’t you say you don’t know how to battle?” she asked.

“I don’t. I wish I did,” he said, looking down. “But not all Pokémon moves have to be used for battle. If you knew Quick Attack, we wouldn’t have just made it on time.”

“Oh _ha ha._”

“Er, I’ll show you inside, too,” he said, leading the way in. The main doors slid open automatically, making Sophitia flinch. She seemed reluctant to follow until he noticed her fall behind, where she skipped after him.

The interior was nearly as outlandish as she felt the exterior looked. Smooth floors, hard, decorated walls, and electronic lights and devices lining the atrium and hallways. Rooms had glass for the walls and doorways, lightly decorated with thin strips of silver. Only one door looked like an actual door, and even then, it was without a handle.

“How do you get in here?” she asked, jaw dropped at it.

“That’s just a storage room, I think. It’s for grownups, they get in with a card key,” he said, smiling at her.

“A card key?”

He hopped up to tap on the card reader beside the door. “Haven’t you ever seen a card reader before?”

“Uh, hello? Memory loss?” she said, slapping her head. He cocked his head.

“But this is normal stuff. Unless where you come from, they don’t have card readers.”

“They don’t have half the stuff you’ve shown me. Or it all feels new and weird to me, anyway,” she said, looking away. “Okay, never mind that, then. Just show me your—”

A loud jingle sounded through the hallway, drowning out her voice completely. She cringed thanks to the volume, looking up at the speakers the song came from. “Okay, that’s just annoying. Is that your fancy technology, too?”

“It’s just the bell to tell us class is starting. It’s loud at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

“I think that means I’ll go deaf, first,” she said, half-lidded.

“We’re on the second floor. This way,” Lute called, jogging away. They needed to reach the end of the hallway to climb stairs, which only led to a hallway nearly identical to the ground floor one. The silver strips were metallic red here, while the walls were now windows that looked outside at Everend. Most of the students were already in their classrooms, evident only by the muffled sound of adult voices starting their lectures. There was another storage room here too, again lacking a handle and opening via card key.

“Lute!” Raiju’s voice screamed the moment he slid the door to their class open. Before either could move, Lute was tackled down and nuzzled.

“Ra-Raiju? Quit it, you’ll—”

It was too late. Raiju’s nuzzling turned into an actual Nuzzle attack, and the two become a sizzling heap of electricity. Sophitia had to stifle a laugh after a while, stumbling away from their messy heap. “Oh. Oops.”

“Honestly Raiju, you’re such a dolt. The kid almost drowned a few days ago and you greet him by shocking him to death?” Cinder said, joining them. The Flareon seemed unbothered by Raiju’s cheeky smile, holding out a paw to help Lute stand up. “Are you really okay to be back at school so soon?”

“Nothing that bad actually happened. I slept a lot and had to wash well, but that’s all. Sophitia here, too,” he replied, turning to introduce her.

“Sophitia?” Raiju said. “Oh my wow, it’s you! It’s really you! The blue Sylveon!”

“Ah, I just realised,” Cinder said, gawking at her. He started strafing her, making her shift away.

“Um, hello? Kinda rude to check someone out like that?” she said, blushing a little.

“Sorry. I’ve never seen a blue Sylveon before, let alone a shiny Pokémon! I’m not normally like this, please forgive me!” he said, shaking himself off. He stood tall and bowed his head. “My name is Cinder. I’m a classmate of Lute’s and a close friend. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Wait, a shiny Pokémon?” one of the surrounding students said.

“Shiny Pokémon? Like, the ones with the fancy fur?”

“It’s the new student! It has blue fur and everything!”

“What’s a shiny Pokémon doing here?”

Sophitia looked over him at the gathering crowd of curious faces, all from Pokémon of various species. There wasn’t a theme amongst them, some were even older, some younger.

“I, er… am I supposed to do something?” she asked, sweating heavily. All those eyes on her made her feel like she was going to melt, all until she noticed one student who hadn’t come out to greet her. A tiny Minun a little shorter than Lute, clothed all over. “_Geez, she’s got the whole package. Head fur, shirt, skirt, even underwear… is she supposed to be Miss Perfect?_”

“Five,” a deep tone got her attention. An Umbreon behind the pack of crowding students was gradually counting down, a furious, sinister glare on his face. “Four.”

“Uh-um, guys?” Lute tried to warn. The class only got rowdier, squashing Lute and friends in the doorway. But as Umbreon got closer, black energy surrounded him like flames, causing his red eyes to glow deeply. “G-guys, seriously, we—”

“Zero,” the Umbreon’s voice echoed, finally getting everyone’s attention. His energy channelled into his right paw, which was raised high up, resembling a scythe. “What the hell is this?”

Whatever move was used, it created a blast that sent every Pokémon flying, leaving them in a heap. Despite it being a dark attack, even Sophitia found herself shivering on the floor, eyes swirling from dizzy disbelief.

“Th-that’s Anbi, our teacher… his Foul Play packs a punch,” Lute said weakly, no better than her.

“I can tell,” she gurgled.

…

“Right, now that that’s all sorted, I hope I never see you all act like that again,” Anbi said, addressing everyone. They each had their own cushions to sit on. “Let’s start easy. We’ll have the new student introduce herself properly.”

“Yeah. This is guaranteed to go well,” Sophitia mumbled.

“Just do your best. You just need to say your name,” Lute said, smiling.

“Easy for you, kiddo,” she continued, walking over to stand beside the Umbreon. She could get a good look at everyone from here, gaining some confidence at their jolly appearances. They looked as hearty and inexperienced as Lute did, and to her, that meant she could deal with them and whatever they tried. Pancham, Dedenne, Vivillon and then Lute and his friends were all that made up this class, meaning her job was easier than she realised.

And then her eyes locked to the Minun from earlier, who realised they were staring and looked away. The moment that happened, some newfound feelings awoke within her. Her heart sped up, her mind unsettled, and pressure filled the air around her. Despite all of that, Sophitia didn’t feel uncomfortable or scared, more so concerned. It was a tingly feeling that came from her ribbon-like feelers, as if they were antennae warning her of some recognisable threat.

“As you can see, this new student is a daydreamer. She’s got a nice body, though that doesn’t mean you can daydream about it,” Anbi said. It took Sophitia a few seconds to realise what had just been said.

“Wh-what? Wait what?” she gasped.

“Good, you’re paying attention. You were staring,” he said. Sophitia blinked, and then turned back to the class.

“Eheh, sorry about that. I’m Sophitia, Lute’s temporary roommate. I’ve come from far away, so I’m not very familiar with a lot of stuff around here. I hope you’ll have me,” she said, laughing awkwardly. “Don’t underestimate me, though.”

“The feeling’s mutual. Thank you, Sophitia,” Anbi said, smiling at her. She gawked back.

“_… Is this guy really the teacher?_” she thought to herself, taking her seat back with the other kids.

“Since we have a new student and Lute is back with us, we’ll have a bit of a refresher period. You remember our project, right Lute?”

“Yes. Aserian history and the discovery of the V-Wave,” he answered, beginning to smile.

“Good, you haven’t been slacking off. We moved on to how to utilise the V-Wave, as well as how it was used in the past. General summary: back then, Pokémon merely used it to power up their attacks, whereas now, it powers virtually every single piece of technology we use in our day-to-day lives.”

“_What the heck is a V-Wave, and how does it power stuff?_” Sophitia thought.

“That’s the best question you could’ve asked, Sophitia. I’m so glad you’re interested,” Anbi said. She flinched and gawked at him.

“D-d-don’t read my mind, if you can! If you can, I’m outta here!” she gasped.

“Don’t worry, I’m just good at reading faces. The V-Wave is an elemental energy that flows through the atmosphere of our planet. It matches any of the eighteen known types a Pokémon can be, powering up their moves and abilities,” he said proudly, beginning to pace. “As time went by, scientists began to experiment with this strange, atmospheric phenomenon. They came to learn all sorts of fascinating things about it, but the main benefit was the ability to draw energy from V-Waves. With that energy, we could create technology that could enhance the lives of Pokémon. All kinds of technology, from sailboats to ovens, to even the lights on this very ceiling – they all use V-Waves to function.”

Sophitia looked up at them. “_The energy we use to power attacks and abilities is also being used to power machinery… why does that thought fill me with dread?_”

“We’ve also managed to prove that the V-Wave is infinite! It’s a wonderful part of our planet’s nature. It flows everywhere. The sky, the sea, you name it. What type the waves favour is like the weather, changing with the seasons, cycling through each of our Pokémon types. If the wave favours your type, you might just wake up feeling like you can take on the world!”

“But Anbi sir, the V-Waves are affecting the climate. The seasons have been declining, haven’t they?” Raiju asked, bouncing up.

“’Declining’ isn’t quite the way to put it. The transition from Winter to Spring has been taking noticeably longer the past few years, but that’s a totally unrelated case. The scientists have already confirmed that that has nothing to do with the V-Wave.”

“_Does it? Abusing an energy that naturally flows through the air seems like it’d have just that kind of side-effect. But does he literally mean seasons as in… hot weather? Cold weather? Does the V-Wave really not have an effect on that?_” Sophitia thought, beginning to get a little bit tense.

She wouldn’t get an answer to her question, however. The lecture and activities would go on to talk more about the world’s history from there on. It was slow and difficult due to being dumped right in the middle of their current subject, but she still managed to take part and get work done with the help of the other students.

Then, when lunch rolled around…

“Phew, I thought I’d never get to eat! How do you guys get through this?” Sophitia said, throwing herself back-first onto the cushions. They were still in the classroom, where Lute was gathering up everyone’s cushion seats so that they could all eat together.

“You can move your hands, can’t you? This’d be so much quicker if you used all four of them at once,” Lute said, groaning.

“Na-uh. I’m the new kid, I get to take it easy today,” she said, sitting up. “Also, they’re feelers. Not hands.”

“Same thing.”

“As for going without food, you get used to it. Especially when a certain dolt keeps forgetting to bring his lunch,” Cinder said, glancing at a crying Raiju.

“Hey if they didn’t lock the gates, I could run home and back and still have time to eat! It’d take me ten seconds,” he cried.

“You’re supposed to bring your food with you to school; even I know that. Why’d you leave it at home?” she asked, sorting through her own sack of goodies. Marina had given her and Lute some fruit medleys wrapped in pancakes, alongside small bowls of rice in curry sauce. And of course, tissues to go with that. “Oh my gods, she doesn’t play about. This is only lunch, but it looks like restaurant dinner!”

“It’s not my fault, actually. I… d-don’t have that luxury,” Raiju said, looking away.

“Huh?”

“We don’t have snacks or long-lasting food at home. But it’s fine, I can still run a hundred laps around town without a bite!” he bragged, standing on his hind legs. Sophitia looked impressed until his stomach growled, making her giggle.

“Okay mister. If you say so.”

“Honestly, just tell them you’re poor. Pokémon like honesty more than boasting,” Cinder said, sighing to himself. He was laying out a plate for Raiju, who only just realised.

“Wait, is this for me?”

“Take it or leave it.”

“Yee haw!”

“Wait, are you saying you’re too poor to buy lunch? How can a Pokémon be too poor to get lunch at school?” Sophitia gasped.

“By… not having enough to buy it?” Lute replied. “Where else is it meant to come from?”

“It’s_ food_\- can’t you just…” she trailed off, going into thought. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe that. I’m so sorry, Raiju.”

“Hey it’s cool! It’s all that training for the Olympics. One day I’ll get so strong I won’t even need food, you’ll see!”

“… That’s not how it works, but that’s the spirit,” she said, starting to sweat. She went to take another bite, only for that discomforting tingle from earlier to suddenly strike her. She only hesitated for a moment, but that was enough to tell that the feeling was getting stronger. She took a bite and turned to the door, drowning out the continuing conversation.

The Minun emerged from outside, though she looked in for a moment, hid, and then slowly slid into the room, both paws clutching her skirt tightly. “Uh-um, excuse me…”

“Infia!” Lute replied, smiling. “Have you had lunch already?”

“Oh er… y-yes, I have,” she said, sounding quieter than a squeak.

“_Oh no. She’s the shy one,_” Sophitia thought to herself.

“Feel free to join us anyway. I haven’t seen you yet today,” Lute said.

Infia tensed up, her straight face turning into a frown. “That’s because you didn’t even tell me if you were okay.”

“I did tell you how worried she was,” Cinder said. “Did you at least send wonder mail?”

“N-no. I was too busy sorting out the house with Sophitia,” Lute replied, leaning back. “Sorry… things got real busy and stuff.”

“Wonder mail, though? Lute it takes 5 seconds! You couldn’t even do that for your girlfriend?” Raiju snickered.

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

And then silence fell. Cinder palmed his face while Sophitia wanted to jump out the nearest window, trying her best to melt out of the scene as much as possible. “_Well, at least THIS is interesting._”

“Raiju, please stop saying things like that,” Infia whimpered, going back to holding her skirt.

“Yeah, geez! Girlfriend, that’s so gross,” Lute spat, making his electric friend laugh.

“Aren’t you like, sixteen? Yeah, you’re my age. You really think that’s still gross?” Sophitia said with a groan.

“Heck yeah! All the kissing and naughty adult stuff. It’s all ew,” he spat again.

“… C-can we… p-please not talk about…?” Infia whimpered.

“Oh alright. There’s a time and a place. I wonder if all the boys here are as underdeveloped as you are,” Sophitia huffed, looking away.

“Oh trust me, they aren’t,” Cinder said, half-lidded.

“I… I was really going to ask… or say… um,” Infia said, twiddling her feet.

Just then, the tingling sensation got worse. It got bad enough for Sophitia to tense up, her face struggling to hide her thoughts. Some bad aura was emanating, like a foreboding of something terrible.

“Go ahead, Infia. You know you can ask me anything,” Lute said, smiling.

“You’re really back at school now? You’re okay and everything?” she asked.

“Right as Raiju! Why do you ask?”

“… It’s not like you were silent for two days after nearly drowning in the river or anything,” Cinder said, looking away. Lute giggled.

“Okay, I recovered from that. I told you, I had to sleep, but I’m okay now,” he said, smiling cheekily.

“But still, you don’t have to go home early or anything?” Infia asked.

“Nope. No meds, nothing. I’m totally fine, Infia.”

There it was again. This time it was a powerful pulse of aura, aura that filled Sophitia with so much fear she felt ill. But surely enough, so did Infia. The Minun had gone the slightest bit pale, looked away, and then stepped back a bit.

“Is everything okay?” Cinder asked.

“Ye-yeah. S-sorry, I-I-I need the restroom,” she said in a panicked tone, sprinting away without turning around. She yelped as she ran right into Anbi, making an attempt to push him away without any comment. He glanced at her and then at Lute’s group, gesturing a shrug.

“She can be so dang weird sometimes,” Lute said. That earnt a glare and the slap of a feeler. “Ow, what was that for?”

“I’m surprised you guys all stayed here. Class is about to start, you sat here all lunch!” he said.

“Eheh, it’s cold outside. And that’s coming from me,” Cinder said.

A conversation continued, but Sophitia had drowned it out again. She was staring behind Anbi at the doorway, unable to get over what had just happened.

The aura had vanished.

As soon as Infia left the vicinity, the aura, the foreboding, the intensity; everything disappeared. That very fact left her more afraid of what was going to happen, if anything at all. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice the jingle ring out again, calling everyone back. Some few minutes later, the class was back in gear and the next lesson was starting. The others didn’t even seem to notice, going back to their casual chatter.

“_I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but love or not, that Minun is hiding something. But the real question is, do I try and find out?_” she asked herself, finally turning back to the lesson. Anbi had been talking, but she hadn’t been listening. She looked around for a hint, only to realise that Infia hadn’t returned yet. “_That’s a long while for a bathroom break._”

As if right on cue, a heavy bang went off, sounding muffled yet close by. It was loud enough to silence everyone, a bang followed by a rising screech like a firework had gone off. It all went quiet again after a few seconds, but eyebrows were raised and some stood up.

“Must be someone outside doing—” Anbi was about to say, but another blast shook him up. This time the floor began to rumble heavily enough to make everyone concentrate on keeping steady. No one said anything, all waiting for the callout on what was going on. But the shaking only began to get worse.

“It’s an earthquake? Everyone on your feet!” Anbi shouted, stomping his. “Guard Swap!”

“You didn’t tell me anything about earthquakes!” Sophitia cried, stumbling for the exit. Anbi’s attack surrounded the students in a pink aura for a brief moment, leaving them all glowing with a mysterious energy. But without the time to question it, Sophitia let the faster students bolt out before her, and then leapt after them with a slow, light gait.

“This isn’t normal! And yo-you gotta go faster than that!” Lute cried, stumbling after her. He could barely run straight, crashing into the other panicking Pokémon that filled the hallway outside. But it was clear that he was trying to slow down for her and kept falling over as a result, so she growled a response and scooped him onto her back.

“Go straight for the exit. No messing around!” Anbi shouted from the back. He glanced side to side, using the doorway to keep his balance.

“Wait, Sophitia! What about Infia?” Lute cried once they made it to the stairs.

“She was in the restroom, right? She’s probably already outside,” she replied, sliding to a stop. With all the other Pokémon rushing to get out, it was no surprise some of them were falling down the stairs. She decided to take a short run up and leapt up as high as she could, floating down to level ground before continuing.

“… Actually, your floating is really helpful, here,” he said, clutching her tightly.

“So Anbi’s Guard Swap. They’re all hitting each other but no one’s getting hurt at all,” she said. “That guy’s not all weird.”

“Less talking, more running!” Raiju sung as he passed them. Cinder gave them a tap, so she focused and got back to escaping.

The exit wasn’t far, so it felt as though it was almost too easy to get out. Once they were on level ground and out of the building, the quakes stopped, though there was still a loud rumbling and the school building was still shaking. Other teachers directed the students to just outside of the school grounds by the main gate, where they all turned to the results of the building.

“Our class is… here. But Infia’s not here,” Lute said, searching the crowd. Sophitia made a sound, focusing her gaze on the building. The quaking was strong enough that a large dust cloud was flowing around it.

“_… I have this horrible feeling…_” she thought, frowning.


	4. Fighting For a Friend

Everyone waited outside the gates of the school grounds, some students quietly muttering amongst themselves while all the others stifled their breaths. The earthquake wasn’t hitting them from here, but it was still strong enough to tell that the building was shaking. This was even after the classes and groups of Pokémon had been sorted and a headcount had been made to ensure everyone had escaped. There were no casualties, and apparently only two Pokémon were missing.

Sophitia knew that one of those Pokémon was Infia, though. The clothed Minun hadn’t been seen since that awkward cry for a bathroom break right before their lessons started. Whatever those explosive auras that came from Infia were, she couldn’t sense them anymore, either.

“The tremors have stopped. Go and arrest the culprit, now!” a robotic voice said, making Sophitia jump. At some point the police had arrived, a squad of Magneton commanded by a Magnezone. There was also a Goodra and a male Meowstic with unrealistically smooth fur as well, and those two walked right through the crowd.

“It’s a good thing we were around. With an almost clear headcount, the initial investigation should go easy,” Meowstic said. His voice was rich and confident.

“Who’re they?” Sophitia asked, looking for Anbi.

“Just authorities. They happened to be in town, so they came,” the Umbreon replied. “Have you been keeping up with the news lately?”

“Mum doesn’t let me read it,” Lute replied, turning to them.

“Spirle’s activities have begun to get more dangerous as of recently. Sudden riots in cities, powerful attacks going off at large buildings… I fear this may be one of their attacks. We’ll see what these guys have to say.”

“Structure scan complete. Just waiting for the magnet unit’s report now,” Meowstic said, staring at the screen of a handheld device in his paws. “That’s all. The culprit’s been found.”

“Already?” Sophitia gasped. The Meowstic looked up at her.

“Apologies. I was mumbling a little too loud.”

“Well who is it? Don’t leave us hanging!”

“This is kinda out of our jurisdiction,” Anbi said, smiling.

“We were there. We’re directly involved in this!” Sophitia raised her voice, bouncing. “Tell us!”

“If there’s no need for the public to know, then I’m afraid you can’t know,” Meowstic said. The Goodra next to him started rubbing its chin, staring at her. “Hold your curiosity. It’ll do you good to not be too nosy in the future.”

With that he walked off, meeting the Magneton that emerged from the building. They were circling someone, and after a quick exchange of words, he was leading them back to the town. “Wait a second, that’s- Lute, that’s Infia!”

“Sophitia?” Lute replied.

“Lute, they’re arresting Infia!”

“They are!” He gasped. “Wait… they are? Did Infia cause the earthquake?”

“Of course not! Use your head,” she cried, bouncing again. She pushed her way out of their group, stretching her feelers wide so that she blocked the police’s path. “Stop right there!”

“S-Sophitia, wait! What’re you doing?” Lute cried. Raiju and Cinder exchanged glances, speechless.

“You get over here too. You’re not actually gonna sit there and let them arrest Infia, are you?”

“I… I mean, I can’t,” he muttered, sweating.

“Just get over here darn it!” she cried, pulling him over with her feelers. The Meowstic stared at her, unbothered, arms at his side like a soldier. “You guys can’t be serious. You really think a little Minun like her caused this earthquake?”

“Those are the results of our initial investigation. Also, it has been proven that members of Spirle have no pattern when it comes to species. Even children have turned up as members,” he said.

“Are Spirle really this bad? That you’d arrest a schoolkid? You can’t be that ludicrous.” she said. Silence fell. “… Well?”

“Uh… erm, Sophitia… Spirle are, um—”

“They’re what? Don’t beat around the bush!”

Lute scrunched up his face. “Spirle _are_ that serious. They’re terrorists. Like Anbi said, they do stuff like destroy buildings and hurt Pokémon. No one even knows what they’re after, but they’re the highest level of criminal there is.”

“Well the school isn’t destroyed, so,” Sophitia said.

“But there was an attempt to. That alone warrants the most careful consideration,” Meowstic replied, folding his arms. “If you continue to obstruct our path, we may have to arrest you as well, you know.”

“Ugh, I know this is garbage! She’s a little girl in cheerleader clothes. How can she make a freaking earthquake? And Lute, why the heck are you letting this happen? Isn’t she your friend?” she shouted, glancing between them.

“I-I can’t stand in the way of the police! They’re like… the police! You know,” he cried, edging away. “Why’re you so worked up about this anyway, Sophitia?”

There was finally some hesitation. “_Yeah… why AM I so worked up about this? It’s like I can tell she has feelings for him that he wants to ignore for some reason… but also that this whole thing just reeks of framing!_”

“You know what, if you won’t do it, then I’ll do it. I’ll fight the police,” she said, curling her feelers to appear threatening.

“Sophitia?” Infia gasped. Meowstic’s eyes widened.

“I’m not gonna let you big guys arrest a clearly innocent little girl. Like, I dunno what’s wrong with everyone around here, but _everything_ is wrong with that. Plus,” she said, looking directly at Infia. “I didn’t even get a chance to talk to you properly. It’s just intuition at this point, but I really need to talk to you. I know I do.”

“But fighting the police? Sophitia you can’t!” Lute cried.

“Your name is Sophitia?” Goodra finally spoke up, raising a slimy arm. She had a surprisingly calm, steady, adult voice, the kind one would imagine a veteran teacher to have. Sophitia nodded to her anyway, keeping a furious look. Goodra nodded in confirmation, turning to Meowstic. “Fight her. I want to see how this plays out.”

A wave of gasps and chatter took over the scene from all observing, and Lute’s eyes popped out. Goodra giggled, waving to the crowd. “I don’t mean literally, of course. If you think we can beat our technology and logic, then give it a go.”

“You just have to use your common sense. A Minun can’t start an earthquake,” Sophitia said, gritting her fangs.

“… Are you sure about this?” Meowstic asked. Goodra nodded again, folding her arms. The Magneton made space around the scene, taking control of everyone observing. In just a moment, a makeshift courthouse had been made. “We do things the logical way over here. When we make our arrests, we do them based on the conclusions of our investigations.”

“Well duh. That’s how investigations work?” Sophitia said. She suddenly flinched. “Wait, you mean we’re not actually gonna _fight_ fight, but just like, talk it out?”

“That is how I do things, yes. I am a prosecutor, not a fighter,” Meowstic said. He revealed the mobile device from before. “This device is a scanner and a communicator. I used it to scan the school when we arrived while the earthquake was still going on. Only one Pokémon was still in the building at the time.”

He tapped a few buttons below the screen and an image of the scan came up. It looked like the skeleton of the school building, revealing floors and silhouettes of everything important inside. Only one thing resembling a Pokémon was in there, and it was the exact shape of a Minun. “As you can see, Infia was the only Pokémon inside the building at the time. The Magneton sent me a report after they rushed in as well. They found her alongside this bomb.”

“… Wa-wait a second, bomb? There was a bomb involved?” Sophitia screeched.

“That’s the nature that Spirle work on. To make things even clearer, a scan of the bomb reveals Infia’s pawprints were all over it,” he continued, tapping a few more buttons. This time, the diagram of a large, drill-shaped device came up. There was a propeller on the end of the drill, alongside what looked like feathers scattered around it.

“Pawprints is like… that means… Infia actually touched… a bomb…” Lute said, shuddering. Sophitia shivered as well, shaking her head in disbelief.

“_… Are you freaking kidding me? A bomb? A terrorist attack at a school in a small town like this? And she actually touched it? What the hell have I put myself into?_” She screamed in her mind, scrunching up her face. “_And I’m supposed to prove that she’s innocent…_”

“It looks like you already understand the situation. Unreputable evidence, proof enough to warrant Infia’s arrest,” Meowstic said, shrugging his shoulders. Just the cocky smirk on his face kicked Sophitia back into focus. She wanted to slap him right now, even if she was wrong about all this.

“I didn’t say I give up. I just gotta think,” she said, faking confidence. “_But where the heck do I even start? Is there supposed to be some kinda flaw in the logic that I can point out?_”

She took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes and all, and then looked around. Many eyes were on her, Meowstic and Infia’s included. Lute was shivering beside her, and his clueless expression didn’t help. She slowly turned her gaze to the school, then the scanner, and then her mind finally had a light bulb.

“I’m allowed to ask questions, aren’t I? What’s up with the bomb? It doesn’t look like an Egg Bomb or anything,” she asked, pointing to the scanner with a feeler.

“Oh, this,” he replied, tapping buttons for a while. He held the device flat, and then a hologram of the bomb showed up. “It has been nicknamed a ‘Drilbur-runner’ since it resembles a Drilbur using the move Drill Run. They’re rather powerful devices for a one-time-use bomb. When activated, they’re programmed to drill at least twenty metres deep, and then explode with a V-Wave blast that targets earth.”

“A blast that targets earth?” Sophitia said, tilting her head. “The heck does that mean?”

“Rather than being explosive in nature, the bomb just releases V-Waves that mess with the stability of the ground. When twenty metres underground, this can cause colossal earthquakes that can destroy the ground above, and any building on top of that,” Meowstic explained. “We’ve only ever encountered this bomb once before. This is our first time getting one in this undamaged state. We can look into its functions properly.”

“Wait… that’s _the_ actual bomb? That means it didn’t go off properly, even though it made an earthquake,” Sophitia said.

“It did go off properly. According to the Magneton, it went off from the second floor of the school, which is about eighteen metres high. As you can guess, it didn’t burrow very far before it burst, and as a result, the earthquake wasn’t as strong,” Meowstic explained, running a simulation on his device. “The drill activated from the second floor disabled restroom. It burrowed through the floor, then fell through the hollow space until it reached the ground floor, where it went about two more metres before bursting. Because the resulting earthquake was so weak, nothing was damaged, and in turn, the bomb remained intact.”

“The second floor disabled… gods, I have so many questions,” she groaned, beginning to pace. “_If they find out I’m a new student, I’m done for. I’ve got to use this information to say something smart._”

“What was Infia doing in a disabled restroom? Also, we have disabled restrooms at school?” Lute asked, tilting his head.

“Apparently, you do. It looks to me like Infia had no reason to be in there other than to handle that weapon, either. It’s just more evidence, in the end,” Meowstic said, smiling cockily.

Sophitia frowned. “_Okay, let me put this into perspective properly. We had that conversation which ended with Infia saying she needed the bathroom, but she went to a disabled restroom instead. There was a bomb in there which she touched, but the bomb didn’t go off properly. This light earthquake started._”

Sophitia shut her eyes, downing her ears a bit to focus. “_Everything I’ve been told so far is clean fact. That means that rather than trying to prove that Infia didn’t handle the bomb or go into the bathroom, I need to try and come up with a reason WHY she went into that bathroom and touched the bomb. By that process, that means Infia must actually be disabled in some form._”

The look of the scene was playing out in her mind as well as her memories. The aura that was coming from Infia stuck out to her the most, and before she knew it, it hit her again. That powerful aura that felt like sad feelings pulsing from a heartbeat.

“_There it is again. It’s like some fear or sadness… embarrassment, many negative emotions taking form. Is this what that aura is? My feelers are picking up on everything,_” she thought to herself, feeling her face straining a bit. She slowly opened her eyes, surprised to find that time had slowed for her. Nothing looked the same as it once was, their colours and movements distorted like they were trying to keep her attention. Every brush of fur in the wind, the way the Pokémon were breathing, their lightest twitches, everything was visible.

“_That’s what it is. I can sense emotions. And right now, Infia’s fear and sadness are in overdrive. Not because she’s about to get arrested. If that were the case, I’d have sensed the emotions ages ago. It must be what we’re talking about right now. That disabled bathroom.”_

With her eyesight enhanced and everything moving in slow motion, Sophitia scanned the scene intently, aiming for Infia. Her legs were knocking together and her paws were twitching, holding between her legs to keep her skirt down. To anyone looking from a distance, it was obvious that she needed the restroom right now. But Sophitia could see differently.

Those paws weren’t holding her crotch. They were pulling her skirt every so slightly, as if trying to hide everything below.

“_That’s it. Bingo._”

Just like that, Sophitia snapped back to reality, her moment of hyper focus returning to normal. Barely any time had elapsed and it had looked as though she were simply thinking deeply for a moment.

“Or what if Infia was actually disabled? I think she is. She went to that bathroom because she had to,” Sophitia said.

“H-huh?” Infia gasped. A bigger pulse of fear erupted from her, making Sophitia nod. She was on the right track.

“The disabled restrooms were locked via card key. Magneton had to hack into it to get into the room,” Meowstic said. “A student as normal as her shouldn’t have access.”

“That’s because she isn’t… ‘normal’, if that’s what you want to call it. She has the card key to get in,” Sophitia said, smiling now.

“We did find one on the bathroom floor, again with her pawprints on it. But the cards don’t contain I.D or anything. It could very well be a card she stole,” Meowstic said, folding his arms. “Unless you have some proof that Infia actually has the right to use this room?”

“_Well, here goes…_” she thought, gulping. “Infia may look normal, but that’s only because of the way she dresses. Underneath that shirt and skirt, she wears nappies.”

“Wha-what? No Sophitia, I don’t wear nappies!” Infia squealed, going red.

Sophitia shook her head slowly. “Infia, you have trouble going to the restroom when you mean to, don’t you? So you wear nappies to deal with that. You’re wearing one right now, but it’s disguised as ordinary underwear!”

“N-no I’m not! I’m not doing anything that embarrassing,” she cried at the top of her voice, covering her face. She looked as though she were on the verge of breaking down, and those emotional pulses were getting more erratic. Sophitia kept a stern face though, trying to fight off her own reactions to the emotional storm. Amongst Infia’s spiking anger, shock, and even slight relief, her sadness and fear were the only parts that weren’t fluctuating.

“Um… Sophitia, isn’t that pretty weird? What even made you say something like that?” Lute asked.

“It’s true, isn’t it? There’s no other reason she’d use that room. And to be honest, I can’t think why she wears underwear to begin with,” the Sylveon replied. “Embarrassed about her need to wear something designed for difficult infants or Pokémon deemed disabled, she wears a full set of clothing to hide her appearance. To be someone completely different, something that isn’t as embarrassing as she feels the real her is.”

“That’s an incredibly bold claim that’s very off-topic for what we’re talking about,” Meowstic said. He shrugged, smiling cockily. “So what’re you going to do? Remove her underwear? Because that’s not very ideal right now.”

“Please don’t!” Infia shrieked at the top of her voice, hugging herself. Sophitia flinched.

“_Wait, maybe I am pushing a little too hard or something… she looks like she’s about to tear herself to shreds,_” she thought, shaking her head. “We need the truth, though. Please Infia, just tell us. Is that why you went to that bathroom? Because you actually needed it, not because there was a bomb in there?”

“If the accused won’t answer, then it is only testament to their guilt. Pretending to wear nappies won’t save you from a crime,” Meowstic said, shrugging again. Infia didn’t respond, shrinking herself into a little ball. All that could be heard from her was panicked whimpering and weak tears.

For Sophitia, her erratic emotions were sinking back into the sadness and fear from before, only they were many times worse. So much worse that she herself couldn’t resist them, staring at Infia with a clouded guilt. “Wa-wait we can’t end there. F-forget the stuff I said. Just tell them that’s why you went there!”

“I-I-I didn’t… I… couldn’t,” was all the Minun could utter, and it was so quiet that Sophitia could barely hear it. She let silence fall, so Meowstic cleared his throat.

“If there really isn’t anything else to say, then I believe our little ‘battle’ is over. Unless you have another point that can prove our evidence is wrong?” he challenged, getting that cocky smile again. Sophitia growled, baring her fangs.

“Hold it!” Anbi shouted, getting everyone’s attention. He was in a dramatic pose at the front of his class, eyes shut and a proud smile on his face. “… Wow, it really does feel cool to say that. Am I the hero arriving just in time?”

“Wha… this isn’t a good time to be weird, Anbi,” Sophitia said, cocking her head.

“Oh but I do have something cool to say.”

“Cool and useful are two very different things right now,” Meowstic replied. “If what you say right now is neither, I’ll see to it that _you’re_ the one wearing nappies for the remainder of the week.”

“_… What the heck is going on all of a sudden?_” Sophitia groaned in her mind.

“First of all, allow me to address my student. Infia. I know you’re very embarrassed about this, but do you remember what I said to you a few years ago?” the Umbreon began, walking towards her. She looked up at him, still whimpering and blinking away tears. “You can’t keep a secret forever. But with the friends you’ve made, your secrets in particular will last a lifetime. And they won’t hurt anyone.”

“Wa-wait… please don’t… please don’t say anything. L-Lute is watching!” she said, going back to hiding herself. He stared at her until she turned away, where he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Sophitia. I don’t know how you figured it out, but you are absolutely correct. Infia does need to wear nappies,” he said.

“What? Seriously?” Lute gasped. Sophitia was speechless.

“Are you covering for her?” Meowstic asked.

“Everend School has one room dedicated to disabled facilities. It’s a bathroom, tool cupboard, and even a lift, an elevator. Only three Pokémon have access to that room as well,” he explained, revealing a card key. “As the headteacher, I have one card. Our cleaner has a card as well, to maintain the room. And then of course, only disabled students have cards. At present, Infia is the only other one. She uses the room to change clothing in privacy.”

“Which means she potentially left to do just that,” Sophitia said, still gawking. She shook her head to focus. “I was right. Infia had a natural need to use that room and went there!”

“All you’ve created is a possibility. It’s still also possible that she used the privacy of this room to set up this whole incident,” Meowstic said, smiling at her. Sophitia blinked once, and then began to pace.

“So here’s what I think happened. Infia left to use the restroom since lessons were soon to start. Obviously, she needed time to change and ‘keep her secret’, so she gave herself plenty of time. But then she found the bomb in that room. Having taken so long to do her business, the real perpetrator eventually came in to activate said bomb, not expecting to find Infia in there. The two fought, and then the bomb went off, starting the earthquake.”

“Let’s see how far you’ve thought this through,” Meowstic replied, folding his arms. “Coming up with a story like that – I don’t believe a Pokémon your age could do that. So first of all: the pawprints on the bomb.”

“It’s a bomb that I, and I’m pretty certain everyone else here, wouldn’t call a bomb until they were told it was one. I mean, look at it. It’s a Drilbur toy with a propeller on the end. She probably played with it, wondering if it was some new tool for that disabled toolroom or something,” she replied, folding her feelers. The surrounding Pokémon began to mutter amongst themselves, their agreements obvious.

“Your ‘perpetrator’. I assume you’re going to claim that it’s the third Pokémon who has access to the room.”

“Yep. Anbi was teaching so it couldn’t have been him, while this cleaner is the only one we haven’t seen yet. Add in that the bomb is surrounded by feathers, which no one seems to have spoken about yet,” she continued, rubbing her chin. “If the cleaner has feathers, you can’t deny that makes them a suspect.”

“Whoa, go Sophitia! You really thought this through, huh?” Raiju cheered, Cinder pressed his head down.

“And I know what your last question is. The bomb went off from an elevator rather than the ground floor. If there really was a conflict, then that gives away that the perpetrator failed in their attempt to set it off properly. They had to deal with Infia. They probably planned to launch it from the ground floor, but couldn’t use the lift while Infia was there.”

Even more mutterings took over the scene, and Meowstic slowly unfurled his arms. Sophitia kept staring at him, hoping for some embarrassed reaction. But there was none. If anything, he looked more aggressive.

“Magnezone brigade. Find that cleaner, _now_!” Goodra shouted. “Headteacher Umbreon. What species is it?”

“I… had a fear when I saw those feathers, to be honest. Our cleaner is a Spritzee called Victoria. She is… also Infia’s surrogate mother.”

“Her mother?” Sophitia said. Her face sunk after a moment. “_Oh. Wait a minute. This couldn’t be a WORSER situation._”

“And I’m right here. Calm your Mudsdale, there’s no reason for this to get dirty,” a woman’s voice said aloud, though it was unclear where it came from. Sophitia and Lute stretched their feet out and looked around, the echo and lack of clarity of the voice springing those instincts to mind.

“Up there!” Lute cried, raising his head.

“Where?” Sophitia muttered, still having to look for them. There weren’t in the crowd, on top of the gates, or even just floating around the air… until a few moments later. The silhouette of a Spritzee soared over the sun’s glare, and then descended next to Infia with a graceful but scary gait.

Well, it was only scary to Sophitia. The idea that this new face was potentially a real terrorist that could have killed her and all these other Pokémon, made it so that anything they did would be scary. The Spritzee was clearly an adult as well, being bigger than imagined. Her voice and face drooled overconfidence in their appearance. When Victoria landed, she covered her front with one wing as if guarding herself.


	5. Infia's Real Secret

“So I was meant to have gone home already, but I couldn’t help but be amused by this joke of a scene,” Victoria began. Her voice was muffled by her wing, but she was so loud and proud that she could be understood. “You’re supposed to be the police, aren’t you? Yet here you are entertaining this juvenile know-it-all. Is this some sort of training exercise? Because if you’re genuinely considering their points, then I have concerns for your abilities overall. You must all be fools if you lose to this.”

“How can you say something like this? You’re her mother, aren’t you? Don’t let her get in trouble for something like this!” Lute cried.

Victoria started playing with the tips of her wings. “Yes, you’re right. She is my daughter. But adopted, nonetheless. And if an adopted daughter wishes to join Spirle, then I won’t stand for their heinous acts no matter who they are.”

She looked over her wing at Infia’s struggled position on the floor. “Especially if they put on such pathetic displays to try and frame their mothers.”

“… This reeks,” Sophitia said.

Victoria went back to hiding behind her wing. “Pardon me?”

“You heard me. You _reek_. You’re a Spirle member, aren’t you?” Sophitia asked.

“Wa-wait, if she really is Spirle, then,” Lute said, leaning back.

Victoria straightened herself. “Focus on the fight, will you? When you’re in a fight, words mean nothing. So attempted insults like that simply soil your appearance,” she said. She turned her back on the crowd, stretching her wings out. “Do you see any missing feathers? It’d be awfully distasteful of me to show up to work with balding feathers.”

Sophitia shook her head again, realising what was being said. This was it. If a fight really did break out between Infia and her mother over the bomb, there would clearly be some feathers missing from the Spritzee. There wasn’t enough time between now and then to replace them.

But there were none. As far as Sophitia could see, Victoria’s back, sides, and wings were as perfect and styled as someone of her species would be expected. There wasn’t even a mark or a sign of damage from a Pokémon attack. Her back and wings were smooth, pink, and shiny clean.

“No, that can’t be,” Sophitia whispered. Lute gawked at her, his face going pale. “There’s nothing there. She couldn’t possibly be untouched.”

“Wha-what do you mean? It’s right there,” Lute said.

“I don’t see any damage or balding. Your feathers are smooth, like my fur,” Meowstic said.

“Huh? Wait, are you guys serious?” Lute gasped, glancing side to side.

“Not a good time for a joke, Lute,” Sophitia said, trying to remain calm. “_If she’s literally untouched, then that means she wasn’t there at all… my whole argument falls back_!”

“See? You were clinging to opinionated dribble, just like any child when they’re arguing with an adult,” Victoria said, turning back around. Sophitia growled at her. “Children these days need to know their place.”

“I did not say that leaves you off the hook,” Meowstic replied, getting her attention. “We still don’t know where you were during all of this. As a Pokémon capable of getting into that room, whose whereabouts were unknown until now, there is a possibility that you are the culprit.”

“You just saw the evidence that I am not. Or do you just intend to keep me here, captivated by my appearance?”

“_… Why is he helping me? Isn’t he meant to be against me_?” Sophitia thought.

“All of you can see for yourselves. I have no feathers missing. Is there something I must do to prove it?” she said, guarding herself again.

“I really don’t get it, why is everyone saying that she’s clean? It’s right there, there’s a big burn mark,” Lute cried, stepping forward. Victoria gave him a vicious glare, making him a stand down.

“Lute?” Sophitia said.

“I really don’t get it. It’s right there, it’s all black with a red mark and everything. Why can’t anybody but me see it?” he said. Sophitia watched him for a while and then glanced at Meowstic, surprised to find him doing the same.

“_Lute… doesn’t sound like he’s lying. So then, why_?” she asked, tensing up. “_None of this makes any sense. Yet if I can’t figure it out, we all go back to square one_!”

“Is it because of the nonsense that scrappy little boy is spouting? How long do you intend to keep me here?” Victoria said. Sophitia growled again while Meowstic tensed up, folding his arms.

“… The scanner,” Infia squeaked. Sophitia flinched, but Victoria took that as an opportunity to turn and slap her daughter hard enough to earn a teary flinch.

“Infia!” Lute cried. The Minun managed a glance at him, and then cowered away.

“_The scanner_?” Sophitia thought to herself, starting to shiver. Meowstic seemed unaffected by the display though, revealing the device. He pressed a few buttons and then held it up to face her. “_Would that pick up something we can’t see_?”

There was a moment of silence, all eyes on Meowstic now. He didn’t react for a while, concentrating on what his device was showing him. Then, with an unbothered look, he held the device flat and let it come up with another hologram. This one was of Victoria, highlighted in mostly yellowish colours. Everything was intact except a section by the back of her right wing, which showed red markings.

“The technology doesn’t lie, and neither do well-behaved children,” Meowstic said as Victoria’s face descended into aggravation. “So, Victoria. Care to explain why my scanner displays damage dealt to you, while our eyes do not?”

There was another lengthy silence, though this time it was muffled by Victoria’s continued growls of displeasure. She eventually calmed down, a level, cocky smile of glee gestured on her. She slowly resumed her original pose, guarding her body with one wing. “So you’re going to trust that machine over your own eyes. Do I really need to say everything that’s wrong with that?”

“Infia. I’d like a testimony from you, please,” Meowstic said.

“We’ve already established that she can’t be trusted. She can’t even be honest with herself!” the Spritzee hissed. “What more could you even ask her for?”

Meowstic was quiet for a moment, but he did get the Minun’s attention. “You’ve already lost everything. Your secrets are out, your mother is on trial. Continued lack of cooperation would lead to you both being arrested. Unless you can tell me exactly what happened, that is.”

“What happened?” she replied.

“You don’t need to answer him. You keep your mouth shut and let the adults do the—”

“Will you shut up? You’re such a villainous parent. I really don’t like you!” Sophitia said, stepping forward. “I don’t like the smug guy’s reasoning as well, but he is right. If you tell us what actually happened, we can bring this to a close.”

“I… I,” Infia whimpered, scrunching herself up.

“Think about it this way. Who is more important? Lute or Mum?” Sophitia said, sounding desperate.

“Who in the world raised you? As if that is even a considerable option!” Victoria said, unable to hide a snicker. “Any well-behaved child would have been raised to value family over friends. Anything less is foolishness. Infia! This is the chance for you to tell them the truth. And don’t twist this to fit the agender of that scruffy boy you keep telling me about.”

“Let Infia speak for herself! It’s not up to you, it’s up to her,” Sophitia shouted.

Infia kept making noises of inner turmoil, but she was beginning to get to her feet. All it took was a glance at all of the anxious faces staring for her to back down and hide behind her paws. She felt like she wanted to throw up, and all that the others had to do about it was to continue arguing with each other.

And then she caught sight of Lute. The Eevee was the only other one who looked worried and pale as if what he was seeing was upsetting him. Without any sort of exchange between them at all, it was like she could tell what he was thinking and what he wanted to do about it. But right now, this was about her, and so she needed to act. She curled her paws into fists and scrunched up her face, welling up what energy she could.

“P-please let me speak!” she squeaked as loud as she could. It was enough to get everyone to stall their breath and face her, but that only brought her to hide her face again. “P-please… let me speak.”

Sophitia curled her feelers back into place, tucked away in her ribbons, while Meowstic folded his arms. Everyone else calmed down and let the quiet fall, but Victoria was snickering under her breath, keeping that intimidating stance.

“You don’t need to be scared,” Lute finally said, smiling a little. Hearing that, Infia took in a deep breath, shut her eyes, and nodded.

“I… I really tried. I promise, I tried my hardest to stop that bomb. I went to the bathroom to try and stop it, but then she came in, and I…” she said, choking on her breath.

“Wait, what?” Sophitia whispered. “Keep it calm. Start from the top.”

“The top… yeah. Um, er… M-Mum is a Spirle High Point. She told me about a trial with the bomb in a few days. And I… I thought it was okay. I thought it would be okay because I changed the time on it. The bomb was going to go off when no one was at school,” she said. The looks on everyone’s faces took a manic shift into horror, though they managed not to shout or gasp despite the obvious want to. “But then Lute came back… I-I thought Lute was going to be gone for longer. I… I really didn’t want him to get hurt, so I tried to shut off the bomb completely. But then Mum came in. I don’t know why, but she came in to check up on it!”

“Is that when the two of you fought?” Sophitia asked, gawking.

Infia nodded, clutching her chest. “She’s really strong, but her special powers don’t work on me. I-I-I did everything I could, but I’m not strong enough to stop her.”

“What do you mean by special powers?” Meowstic asked. His tone had become stifled fury, while his claws were bared and fangs gritted.

“Mum’s an extraordinary Pokémon. Anyone that smells her perfume can only see whatever she wants them to see. I think she’s using it to hide her scar. But it doesn’t work on me, for some reason. I managed to hit her with Thundershock when we got into a fight, but she turned on the bomb. That’s when I… I…” she started to squeak and whimper again, half hiding behind her paws. “She turned on the bomb because I was going to stop her… s-s-so I… I pushed her onto the drill… I nearly killed her, but I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

“Magnezone!” Goodra shouted, but they were far ahead of her. The head of the police units charged up a Flash Cannon attack in the blink of an eye and fired it in Victoria’s direction, making Infia scream and cower.

“Infia!” Lute cried, diving forward. He was too far away to even come close to helping her, though. The attack looked like it hit Victoria, but the burst of smoke that resulted from the impact shrouded both her and Infia. He watched with anxious breath until the smoke cleared, revealing Infia’s cowering figure and Victoria nowhere to be seen.

“You were quick to conclude that she was telling the truth, weren’t you? Why now and not back then, I wonder?” Victoria’s voice echoed across the sky.

“Everyone get back now!” Anbi commanded, gathering the observing students. The remaining Magneton joined him to evacuate the public, though Lute hesitated to follow them.

“That’s a Spirle High Point. B-but Infia,” he whispered, glancing back and forth.

“Now you’ve got it. Let’s beat her,” Sophitia said, posing for battle.

“Beat her? Sophitia, you’re crazy! How can you smile about something like that?” he said.

“So much for wanting to be a hero. The chance presents itself and you get cold feet. After all that work I did setting it up for you,” she said, snickering. “Bring it you pompous fairy!”

“S-Sophitia, you don’t remember any of your attacks,” he said.

“Don’t need to. I’ve wanted to smack this witch around the moment I met them,” she said.

“Just the scanner detecting what we can’t see is more than enough proof. Show yourself!” Meowstic said.

Victoria’s growing laughter took over the scene, although she still wasn’t visible. “Of all the things to bring me down and expose me. I never thought that the lowlife country bumpkins of this place would find such method of doing so. But here I am.”

Victoria reappeared in four places at once across the sky, four Victorias perfectly identical and moving in their own manner. One of them floated in place to point at Sophitia, a livid glare beaming down at the Sylveon. “You. I will definitely be remembering you and your name. I thought you were special; you have the beauty to be so. But you don’t know your place. How dare you even think of talking to me the way you have?”

“Sophitia, look out! Lute cried.

Sophitia didn’t get the chance to respond or even move, though. Out of nowhere, several pink beams of energy scattered off in aimless directions, but a few of them passed over her. She flinched into a defensive pose just before they hit, but she was hard pressed to not scream as the pain tore through her. Just the one attack brought her one leg, one eye closed and fangs bared.

“Argh, why didn’t I see that coming?” she growled, glaring at the four Victoria. Each one flew around the school ground launching attacks at the Magneton, who each responded in kind. Goodra and Meowstic were trying to fight as well, although they were much more focused on giving orders.

Nothing anyone tried seemed to hit Victoria at all. Meowstic was using Light Screen to protect himself and Goodra, while the Magneton darted around with robotic movements, flashing like turrets as their Thunderbolt and Mirror Shot attacks fired away into the sky.

“None of them are aiming for her at all. Magneton don’t even have noses, why are they affected by Victoria’s perfume?” Lute cried. He had brought Infia to his side in all the chaos, but she had done nothing but cower into his mane since.

“Better question is, why aren’t you two affected?” Sophitia barked. “Wait. Lute, you can see where she is? Like, perfectly? There’s only one Victoria right now, isn’t there?”

“There’s more than one Victoria?” he replied.

“Good enough!” she said, scooping Lute into her feelers.

“Wah, Sophitia what’re you—”

“Just go with me. Infia sit tight, we’ll be right back,” She said, making sure Lute was secure on her back. Once there, she got up and jogged forward a bit. “I’m only letting you do this once. Grab my ears and pull me towards her. Be my eyes for me!”

“Wait what?” he gasped.

“Once we’re close enough, hit her with everything you’ve got!” she said.

“Wait this isn’t a good idea we really shouldn’t—”

“Okay let’s go!” Sophitia shouted, shooting ahead as fast as she could. Lute cried out but did as he was told anyway, clutching an ear in each paw. Sophitia had to make sure she was sprinting and not leaping so that her floaty gait didn’t slow her down. She aimed for the centre of where the four Spritzee were fighting, soon having her left ear yanked so hard it hurt.

That pain was nothing compared to the Dazzling Gleam she’d just took, though. So she resisted it without complaint other than gritted fangs, dragging her body to the left without changing course. Surely enough, a burst of Fairy Wind showered over where she just was, hitting the ground. That brought a smile to her face, but it was short lived as Lute pulled on her right ear. She shifted course again, dodging another burst of Fairy Wind.

“In the air, like really high! Right above us,” Lute said, and Sophitia obeyed right away.

To Lute, it was almost miraculous how well she obeyed. She leapt right up Victoria’s altitude perfectly, their faces meeting briefly. Victoria’s eyes widened, and then he knew he actually stood a chance. For the first time ever, he felt an instinct erupt within him, a feral reaction that just told him to attack with everything he had. And so, without truly thinking about it, he hopped off Sophitia’s back and tensed up his body for Quick Attack. He bashed right into the surprised Victoria with it, bringing them both toward the ground like a meteor.

Everyone gasped when Lute suddenly impacted an invisible Victoria, impressed that his collision caused a blast of dust on the ground. The two ended up in clash with Lute trying to push Victoria down, but she was guarding herself with one wing. She looked like she wasn’t putting much effort into the act, slapping him away after a moment. He didn’t let her go at just that though, growling before leaping back into her with a Tackle attack followed by Bite.

“How dare you!” she shrieked, dragging him into the ground with a tackle of her own. Now that Lute was rolling away from her, it could be seen that it was the real her – feathers were sticking out all over her body, rough and unclean. Her back had an especially noticeable black burn mark centred around visible flesh, still red and fresh.

“She’s hurt,” Sophitia gasped. She immediately recalled Infia’s claim of nearly killing her.

“You… you can see me, can’t you? How did you do that?” Victoria said, breathing heavily. Lute didn’t reply, but he shifted back a bit. “That’s… no wait, that’s- it couldn’t be. You’re Marina’s Pokémon, aren’t you?”

Lute’s eye’s widened. “H-how do you know Mum?”

“Shh, don’t tell her you dingus!” Sophitia cried.

“Mum?” Victoria said, shifting away as well. That shock turned into laughter after a moment, and then she took off back into the air. “That explains it. That explains a lot, actually. Everything. Yes… the test might have been a failure, but I found so much more.”

“What’re you talking about? How do you know Mum?” Lute raised his voice.

“It’s none of your business, boy. But now that I know where you are,” she replied, looking away. She said nothing more, shooting off into the sky again.

“Don’t just stand there, don’t let her get away!” Sophitia shouted, glancing at the police. A few Magneton fired Mirror Shot, but by then it was too late. The Spritzee disappeared into a cloud of pink mist, this time vanishing completely.

“She’s gone,” Lute said. He and Sophitia frowned, staring at where she just was.

“Lute, new girl!” Raiju screamed, making them jump. They only had a second before he pounced on top of them, nuzzling them both.

“Raiju- get off- quit it! Have you forgotten my name already?” Sophitia cried, wrestling him off.

“Are you okay, though? I was actually super-duper scared. I couldn’t move my legs at all!” Raiju said, bouncing with glee.

“Might want to get that checked over, then. We’re fine,” she replied, shaking her head. “Infia though, are you okay?”

But the Minun stepped away when Sophitia reached for her. She hid behind her paws and stumbled away, avoiding the touch of everyone. “What’s… are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“We’ll take over from here,” Meowstic said, appearing beside the group with the Goodra and the other police Magneton. “Despite your efforts to ’rescue’ Infia from us, we’re going to have to take her anyway.”

“What? Wait a minute, that’s not—” Sophitia said.

“Calm down. Her mother is a wanted terrorist and she was this close to following in their footsteps. Our investigation will continue at her house and via interview, meanwhile we sort out some new accommodation or something,” Goodra said. “Infia isn’t being arrested this time, more like taken away for her safety. We may need the same from you two as well, but not right now. The lot of you can head home.”

“That’s still just- I didn’t even get to talk to her,” Sophitia said.

“I don’t want to talk to you anyway!” Infia cried.

Sophitia gasped. “Wait but I—”

“No! Leave me alone,” Infia pouted. She didn’t even seem bothered by the surrounding police this time. The others just gawked as the authorities led her out, the coloured ends of their magnets blinking red and blue. Goodra and Meowstic was last out, sitting on top of the Magnezone to let it drive them away.

“You two shouldn’t linger, either. Lucky you, being given the chance to leave school early,” Anbi said.

“Really? What’s with you?” Sophitia said with a groan.

“I’m guessing everything that happened here is to be confidential, too. No telling our parents or anything?” Cinder asked.

“Hey the cops didn’t say anything about it,” Anbi said, shrugging.

Sophitia slumped forward. “None of you are serious about this.”

“I hope Infia will be alright, though. She doesn’t do well in front of new Pokémon and stuff,” Lute said, still staring at where the police were.

“_Heh. At least he’s worrying about her,_” Sophitia thought, smiling.


	6. Agents of King's Shield

“Why’d she go and push me away like that, huh? I was only trying to help and stuff,” Sophitia said quietly enough to mumble.

“You were really reckless, though. You put us on the spot and stuff. She’s really not good at peer pressure like that,” Lute replied just as quietly. They were both in their beds, lights out and moonlight peeking through the gaps to the side of the curtain.

“You weren’t standing up for your friend, then that turned into a chance to show off your stuff. It worked out, so what’s the big deal?”

“We could’ve gotten really hurt and stuff. It would’ve been way better and safer to stay out of it and let the police do their thing.”

“And then let Victoria have gotten away? Standing around and watching as wrongdoers do whatever they want is why crime exists in the first place,” she said, a groan in her tone. Silence fell for a moment. “Hey, Lute? Where’s Infia’s dad?”

“… I don’t think she has one. She was adopted, after all.”

“Oh,” she said. Silence again. “What about your dad?”

Lute made a sound but couldn’t reply.

“Is it a bad subject?”

“No. I’ve never met him, and Mum won’t tell me, either,” he said, shifting under the covers. “… Thanks, Sophitia.”

“Hmm?”

“For helping Infia today. You helped me battle Victoria, too. I wouldn’t have been brave enough.”

“That’s more like it. Some recognition.”

“No need to be like that. Goodnight, now.”

“Goodnight, Lute.”

The next morning…

“Lute, there you are. Why does it take you longer than Sophitia to get washed?” Marina greeted, welcoming the Eevee to the breakfast table. Scones, pancakes, and some large fruits were laid out for them to help themselves to, which Sophitia had piled up to make a tower on her plate. Once he saw that, Lute sighed and shook his head, helping himself to one of each.

“Because she doesn’t wash properly,” he grumbled.

“I do I do. You’re just more of a girl than I am,” she said, stuffing her face. “Ibs all jubbs bwecwause I’m—”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. Anyway, I wish you’d actually told me what you did yesterday rather than letting me find out thanks to the police,” the Vaporeon rambled, shuffling through a bag to reveal a note. “They invited us to a little meet over in Densan City.”

“The police? Invited us?” Sophitia replied, snatching the note.

“Sophitia,” Lute groaned.

“By ‘invited’ I mean ‘ordered’, of course. Because your little confrontation involved a wanted Spirle member, the big guns need a report. We’re going there once you’ve eaten,” Marina said.

“You’d think an order from the authorities would be more hard written than this. But they’re pretty polite about it,” Sophitia said, returning to her food. She was stuffing more into her mouth than could fit, yet had no difficulty chewing and gulping.

“If you’re actually planning on eating all that, we’ll be late,” Lute said.

“Better than letting it go to waste,” she said.

“Just wrap it up!” he cried.

“No. Food like this deserves to be savoured, enjoyed! Especially since Marina’s gone through _so much_ effort to make it all,” she said.

“I don’t mind, honestly. I figured you liked your food, so I made a lot,” Marina said with a giggle.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sophitia said, slowing down.

“It means you’re a glutton. You’re kinda chubby in general. Keep eating like that and you really will get fat,” Lute said, snickering as well.

“Hey!” she cried, looking at herself. “I may look a bit pudgy, but it’s, uh, muscley fat. Yes.”

“Muscley fat?” Lute said, half-lidded.

“Yeah you know, muscle that got turned into fat. It only takes a bit of work and all of this turns back into muscle. I just gotta use Bulk Up,” Sophitia replied, still eating.

Lute took a moment to think about that, screwing up his face. “Can Sylveon even do Bulk Up?”

“Not with that tone they can’t!” she cried.

“If I can’t use Bulk Up, how can any of my evolutions?” he raised his voice.

Marina watched the duo’s bickering descend into activity, giggling to herself when they started poking and slapping each other. She caught their attention, standing tall. “Well if the husband and wife are done, we can be on our way, then.”

“Husband and- me and him? C’mon, never in million years!” Sophitia cried, standing up as well.

“You always say that when I’m talking to a girl,” Lute said, groaning.

The casual chatter carried on as they left the house. They went in the opposite direction of the school this time, though there was little difference in population. Few Pokémon were around, and those that were, they concentrated on their shopping and natural duties. Some were tending fields, others hauling materials back and forth to maintain the basic buildings around.

The road remained this quiet even though they were heading towards the sea. Their destination wasn’t exactly a port, but a bundle of huts and houses closer together than anywhere else in the town. One of those buildings was taller than the others and was actually made of bricks, sturdy and rectangular in appearance. That was when Sophitia went quiet and explored with her eyes, slowing down to get a good look at it all.

“It’s Everend’s gondola station. It’s what Pokémon use to get between the islands of Aseria if they can’t fly,” Marina said, walking right in.

“We’re leaving the island?” Sophitia said.

“Well yeah, Mum did say we’re headed to Densan City. I’ve never been that far out, but I’ve heard a lot about it,” Lute said. His eyes were brightening with excitement. “It’s supposed to be one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. And it has the Ministry of Science, where they’re always developing new tech and experimenting with the world’s phenomena. Stuff like the V-Wave, or ancient technology that they unearth in museums!”

“How do you know about this?” Marina asked.

“There are books and stuff at school. Plus, sometimes the other guys talk about it when there’s big news and stuff,” he said, smiling wide.

“Figures a nerd like you would get excited,” Sophitia said, looking away. “But what’s a gondola?”

“They’re just our transport. They’re like little carriages that get carried through the sky by rails and wires,” Lute said, scratching his chin with the top of his paw. “They’re electronically powered, but supposedly it’s basic V-Wave technology that makes it environmentally friendly. They operate based on timing, though. So you don’t just get on one when you want. You have to buy a ticket and then wait for one to arrive. You also have to make sure that the gondola you’re getting on is going to the right place.”

Sophitia actually looked like she was listening, but a raised eyebrow made Lute stop. “I… think I get it. Sounds easy enough. But for some reason, the concept sounds really familiar.”

“It’s simple Aseria stuff. You may have lost your memories, but something like this wouldn’t go too far,” Marina said.

“If you say so,” the Sylveon mumbled, still looking unsure.

Inside the station was relatively empty, save for a few Pokémon dressed in cute uniform hats. Large metal folding doors made for ticket barriers, while miniature computers dug into the walls served as ticket machines. The machines were at a variety of heights and had a funny feeling film over them that felt smooth to touch. Marina took out the letter and let the ticket barrier scan that, and they opened.

“They were nice enough to give us free travel so we wouldn’t be late. So c’mon kids,” she called. Sophitia had to be tapped to walk over.

“I hate being called a kid,” she grumbled. A quick look at the station map and a short walk up a few steps to reach the right platform, and the gondola was already docked and ready for them to board. It was a single carriage with large windows on all sides bar the floor, cushioned seats lining the left and right ends, and a conductor Pokémon waiting for them and other passengers. A Klefki with a card key amongst its usual keys, who looked happy to see them.

“It’s about time you showed up. We were about to set off full-steam without you,” Klefki greeted in an unexpectedly gruff tone. He spun around the free of them, darting around like a Cutiefly. “One adult, two seniors. I might as well verify your tickets now.”

“Aww what, really? We already got past those wall-machine thingies, why’ve we gotta show them again?” Sophitia said while Marina obliged anyway.

“Sorry lil’ missy. That just be how the job goes. Can’t be having any scoundrels jump the barriers with fake tickets, can we?” Klefki said without looking at Sophitia. He was examining the note intently, and his face gleamed with a cute excitement. Sophitia didn’t reply, watching curiously. “Two single-use tickets from here to Densan Central and back. You’re all cleared to go.”

“Thank you,” Marina said.

“This is so weird,” Sophitia mumbled as the Klefki continued to flutter around.

“Last call? No one? Then we’re off! Passengers, please keep all appendages inside the carriage at all times and do not obstruct the doorways. I recommend being seated or holding the handrails should there be turbulence,” Klefki said, spiralling toward the ceiling. There was a line of keyholes there, to which he separated his keyring to let his sides dangle like thin arms. He inserted those arms and some keys into a few slots, and then he looked like part of the gondola itself, glowing like an electronic light while rotating. An overexcited smile remained on his face the whole time.

The floor shook as the gondola accelerated, taking Sophitia off-balance. She squeaked, blushing when she saw Lute and Marina already sat on one side. “This thing actually works? We’re like, actually moving?”

“Yeah, come and join us!” Lute said, light laughter coming from him. She cried back, wrapping all four feelers around one of the poles. She could barely steady herself, hind legs crossed and downed, while her front scrambled and cradled the pole for life.

“N-no way! What is this thing? I can’t move! Someone help!” she squealed.

“C-calm down, we’ve barely started moving. We’re still going up into the air,” Lute said, holding a paw out.

“We’re going up? Up high? How high?” she squeaked.

“Huh. I didn’t take you for getting travel sick like this,” Marina said, surprised as well.

“The floor is moving! I can hear the wind beside me, too. And the clouds are – oh gods, why are there clouds beside me? Get me off this thing before it kills us all!” Sophitia screamed.

“It’s not going to kill us, we’ll be fine. T-take a proper look around. You can see all the scenery around us, isn’t it great?” Lute said.

“No it’s _NOT_!” she cried at the top of her voice.

…

It took them a long while to reach their destination, or according to Marina, it felt longer because most of the time was spent trying to calm down the Sylveon. It took work, but in the end, they managed to get her to settle down at the foot of the seats where she couldn’t see the windows. The moment they docked and the doors opened, she bolted out, gasping as if she’d be holding her breath the whole time.

“Never take me on one of those things ever again!” she shouted.

“I’m sorry but we’re going to need to go back on them to get home. This place is too far away to get back in time any other way. Remember we’re still during a school week – this isn’t a holiday,” Marina said, leading Lute off the carriage. “We’re going to the police to give your report and then we’re heading home.”

“Aww but Mum, this is Sophitia’s first time out of Everend. Can’t we look around and see if anything jogs her memory?” Lute said.

“You’re only saying that because this is your first time here too and you want to look around. We don’t have a lot of money to spend and you two have got to be back to school tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, we won’t spend anything,” he said, wagging his tail in excitement.

Marina rolled her eyes and looked away. “Okay. But stick with me. We’re sorting out the police report before we do anything.”

“Yay, thank you, Mum,” Lute cheered, rushing to the edge of the station exit. It was open air, overlooking much of the city beyond. “Sophitia, come and look at this.”

“Its,” she mouthed, realising what she was looking at.

A skyline of stale clouds covering the sky as far as the eye could see, all so thick that not a single shade of blue peeked through. Below that, an irritating mess of rails, wires, and construction machinery amongst the endless stack of towering buildings. They were pretty high up, yet many of the buildings went ever higher, one of which looked like it was actually touching the clouds. She couldn’t help but crinkle her nose at the air, which she was sure was dirty enough to be tasted somehow.

Below them, a distant ground maze of streets and roads chock full of more Pokémon than could ever be imagined in one place. Most were domesticated species that didn’t hunt or didn’t take up much space, and all of them were making so much simple noise that they gave the area a constant echo of chatter and marching.

Sophitia flinched when she felt a rumble below her, surprised to see another gondola come out of the wall they were standing on top of. This one was heading deeper into the city, its rail weaving amongst the buildings and streets but high in the air. One look at it made her feel claustrophobic. It amongst many other gondolas heading throughout the city were badly overpacked, even though they were three carriages long rather than one.

“How do these Pokémon function?” she cried, jaw dropped at it all.

“They’re all tourists, I think? Pokémon here to see the sights, just like us,” Lute said. Marina sighed.

“Stay with me now, you two. It’s not far, but I don’t want to lose you in the crowd,” she said, leading the way down into the street. “Many of these Pokémon work here. You may notice that all of them are the type to have two legs and two hands and aren’t very strong looking. They work all day on computers and things.”

“Computers? Really?” Sophitia said, bothered by the amount of Pokémon around. Once they entered the street, she was having to tuck her feelers in all the way just to not brush against anyone. A Mawile who was running to the station still managed to bump her, apologised, and ran off.

“C’mon, look where you’re going.” Lute groaned.

“Never mind that. I ain’t never seen a Mawile run that fast before,” Sophitia said, still looking back.

“This place is where most of Aseria’s systems are managed. You’ve got the Ministry of Science dead ahead in the centre, where those technologies Lute mentioned earlier are developed,” Marina continued, signalling with a paw. “Far left of there is the waterworks. It’s here the reason why our shower works. The right is supposed to be a nature reserve, but it acts more like Pokémon trying to experiment with plants and nature. You know, ways to draw out more than just oxygen from trees and the like. It’s crazy weird.”

“You sure know a lot about this place,” Sophitia said with a smile. The Vaporeon shut her eyes and giggled, swaying her head.

“Despite being four legged, I used to work here. I thought it’d be interesting, but after I got my few looks around, it got too much for me. I wasn’t anything special, mind you,” she said.

“Oh, neat. And I guess a place like this never changes,” Lute said.

“Yes. We’re here now, this way,” she said, referring to the note again. She slowed down, taking a few glances at it and the scenery. This spot had quietened down a bit, though only because it was an off street away from the main road. There weren’t any gondola rails overhead or open shops along the street, and most of them weren’t as flashy or colourful.

Minus the nursery that Marina had stopped in front of. It looked like a small place ran by a local family or something, lacking any of the polish and sharpness that everything else here had. Even the banner was hand painted, with a few mistakes here and there.

“Apparently, this is the place? I’m pretty certain it’d be a police station,” she said, taking a look back at the main road. They weren’t even that far from the district that counted as the Ministry of Science. “Who builds a nursery in a place like this?”

“They probably don’t get a lot of business. Can’t imagine half of these salarymon can even score,” Sophitia said, snickering to herself. Marina’s eyes widened and she smacked her hard enough to earn a yelp. “What was that for?”

“Keep nasty comments like that to yourself, please,” Marina said, pressing a buzzer beside the closed shutters. “No harm in asking if this is the right place.”

They waited a while, but surely enough, part of the shutter opened to reveal an open door. A Goodra had to duck through, but she smiled against Lute and Sophitia’s surprise.

“Thank goodness, you made it! I was worried that you’d get confused about the place,” she said, welcoming them in.

“Not exactly the most ideal place to hold a police meeting. Is this some sort of undercover base?” Marina said.

“Mmm, not exactly. That’s an exciting guess, though,” Goodra said, walking right through the first room. It was devoid of life right now, but there were small beds and cots that were well maintained, while the floor was littered with baby toys. “Since Marina’s here, I won’t stall otherwise. Follow me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sophitia asked.

“The babies that stay here look like they have a good time,” Lute said, giggling as they walked through it all. Everything resembled the house of a standard Pokémon, with well-spaced rooms designated for cooking, storage, and all else. It was exactly like home, but everything was laid out differently and was made to house multiple children.

But it kept going. Down the hall and past the nap room and into a collection of cupboards and things. It was dark in here, dark and dusty enough to irritate the nose. One cupboard had double doors and a padlock, which Goodra promptly unlocked.

“Right. Everything that happens from here on is confidential. That means you’re not allowed to talk about it at all after you leave, not even to yourselves,” Goodra said, facing them all. “And I mean it. Not a hint, not a word, not a thing gets talked about amongst yourselves.”

“You know, telling us this while we’re out here, we could like, leave and sell this place out if it really is a secret base or something,” Sophitia said, a smug smile on her face.

Goodra rubbed her chin, habitually smearing green goo over it. “I mean yes, you could, but I doubt you’d get very far.”

“If I were you, I’d take her word for it,” Marina said, unbothered.

“Eek. I guess we don’t actually have a choice then, do we?” Sophitia squeaked.

“No. You really don’t,” Goodra said.

Inside was a corridor wider than the double doors leading into them, though the walkway they had to get across was thin. Black abyss surrounded them on both sides, while the walls furthest to the left and right were an perfectly clean tiled white. They had to go down a few steps, but Goodra had them walking right through to the cybernetic door on the other side.

“What is this place?” Lute asked, gawking.

“We had to make some considerations but came to a conclusion pretty quickly,” Goodra said, not looking back at them. She laid a slimy hand on a panel beside the door at the other side, which opened up by disintegrating into many little particles to let them through. It reformed in the same way once they were in.

The moment they entered, Marina let out a loud bundle of inaudible sounds, staggering backwards in shock. Lute looked for an answer before asking, not spotting anything that was too surprising that they hadn’t seen thus far. Rows and rows of hi-tech computers and machinery with Pokémon working at each, a large, electronic blackboard that had several screens of surveillance cameras active, and stacks and messes of notes and paper all over the desks and stools.

The only difference this time was that there were plenty of mature Pokémon around. The one Marina seemed to be astonished by was the Delphox that turned at her sound, a tall, smooth and well-groomed Delphox. It had a confident smile on its face as it turned, revealing a strange device tucked underneath one of his ears. It looked like a pair of glasses cut in half, covering its right eye in a green visor.

“Is this them?” he said, revealing a proud, strong, stable voice. Goodra didn’t answer him, standing beside him to address Lute and the others properly.

“Try not to get so flustered. He’s not a celebrity down here,” Goodra said, giggling at them.

“Yes. Sure. Lassic, head of technology, president of Aseria, leading authority on the maintenance of the V-Wave phenomenon,” Marina said, making Lute and Sophitia gasp. “You know, just casually the most famous Pokémon in the whole world.”

“When you put it that way, it does seem overwhelming,” Lassic said, scratching the back of his head. “But I am just another Pokémon at the end of the way. Everything I can do; other Pokémon could do just as well.”

“So you’ve met Lassic. I am Silver,” Goodra said, taking the lead. “You already know why we brought you here: your battle against the Spirle High Point, Victoria.”

“It wasn’t my idea, I swear!” Lute cried.

“I know. I was there,” Silver said, half-lidded.

“You just need a report, don’t you?” Marina said.

“No, actually. We want to understand what you did that enabled you to bypass her illusions. We’ve confronted High Points many times, yet that was the closest we had ever been to defeating one. In fact, in Victoria’s case, that is the only time we’ve ever seen her take damage. Her illusions have confounded us that much,” Silver said, folding her arms.

“Well I dunno what to tell ya. Those illusions just didn’t work on Lute, so I made him be my eyes for me,” Sophitia said, shrugging her feelers.

“I don’t know what to say, either. I can’t even see what you all are talking about when you say she has illusions,” Lute said, looking away. Marina glanced at him; her face eerily straight.

“I feared this might be the response, which is why we agreed to bring you this far out. Whether or not you know why her illusions work or not, we will need you to aid us in our battles against her. You may be the only Pokémon capable of fighting Victoria for us,” Silver said.

“My son is not a weapon. He’s just a student,” Marina said.

“If Lute is the only one who can help fight this high-class terrorist that’s got Aseria up in arms, then he should fight it. Who cares if normal school stuff gets in the way?” Sophitia said. “Better than letting Victoria do what she wants.”

“You really don’t know much better, do you Sophitia? What can a student with little battle experience do against a terrorist? I’m not putting my son in that much danger,” Marina raised her voice.

“Silver has worded this badly,” Lassic said, tapping his wand on his arm. “We’re not throwing Lute into a battle with terrorists, we’re requesting that he join us in our endeavours to protect the Pokémon of Aseria. And the best way to do that is to form a team around his abilities. You’ll be operating as a unit within the Agents of King’s Shield.”

“Wait, is that what this place is?” Lute gasped.

“Yes. This is one of many bases of operations for the Agents of King’s Shield, the team that protects Aseria from all kinds. We want you to form a team here, grow stronger, and use your gift of seeing through these illusions to protect the Pokémon of Aseria,” Lassic said. Lute’s face brightened at every word. “What role you would take on is down to you. You could be a rescue team, exploration team, or even plain missionaries. Regardless, your powers are seen as an asset we could not pass up the chance to request.”

“I decline,” Marina said right away, stepping forward.

“M-Mum!” Lute gasped.

“You already know my stance on all of this, Silver. Why you would try to drag me back into this, I don’t know. But my answer isn’t changing,” she said, her tone getting sharper with every word.

“That’s why we’re asking Lute, not you,” Silver said, bringing the room to silence. It took a moment for the Eevee to realise they were waiting for him, where he beamed up with a blush.

“I-I accept. I-I-I mean, what would you have me do, Miss Silver and Mister Lassic?” he said, standing straight and tall. He looked like he was about to explode into glitter and rainbows, making Sophitia roll her eyes.

“Well hold on a sec, you all know it wasn’t just him, right? He was gonna run away and hide like all the other Pokémon until I stepped in. I was the one that did all the real fighting,” Sophitia said, stepping between them.

“That’s why you’ll be the leader of this unit. Lead investigator and the one that initiates each objective,” Silver said.

“Heck yeah. I get to order you around now,” she said, giving Lute a smug look.

“Wa-wait no that’s a terrible idea, don’t make her leader. I’m the one that can see through the illusions, I’m the one you need,” he said.

“Oh cut it out. You wouldn’t even be getting this chance if I hadn’t made you battle, and you know it,” she said, tickling his nose. He opened his mouth to respond, but grumbled instead. “Exactly.”

“Lute?” a familiar voice called out, bringing the room to quiet again. Infia was stood off to the side, clutching her chest. Escorted by a stern looking Fennekin, she looked pale and thirsty.

“Infia? You’re here?” Lute gasped.

“Infia is going to be part of your unit as well. She has access to the house Victoria lived in, and is also capable of seeing through her illusions. We need her as much as we need you,” Silver said. Lute smiled and laughed, jogging over.

“The way you’re talking, you already decided this was going to happen, didn’t you?” Marinna said, not hiding her fury.

“We did, and I’m not going to hide that. Spirle have had us in not the greatest of positions, but this may turn the tide. We can’t afford to pass up the chance,” Lassic said. “But I implore you not to fret. We work in the interests of the Pokémon first and foremost before everything. Your lives will barely change, given you are still in education and all. And lastly, we wouldn’t expect you to do all of this for free.”

“Wait, we get paid?” Sophitia said, her face going smug.

“We’re you expecting any less?” Silver asked.

“I dunno, I don’t know anything about this stuff. So what’re we talking? I might get a little motivated if it’s fancy,” she said, giggling. Silver and Lassic exchanged glances, and then Lassic handed her two strips of paper. “What’re these?”

“You’ll get paid in money when jobs are actually done. But for now, you and Lute can have these as thanks for your recent investigation. They’re backstage tickets to that upcoming show from Esther,” Lassic said.

“Esther’s show?” Infia said, rushing over.

“Yes. Admittedly I’m sort of just passing these on to you. I got invited backstage and all, but to be honest, pop gigs aren’t really my thing,” he said, scratching his head. “I’m more of a metal kind of guy.”

“Of course you are,” Sophitia rolled her eyes again.

“Lute, you’re so lucky. I’d do anything to go to one of Esther’s shows, I love her music,” Infia said. She looked down. “But Mum- I mean Victoria always said they were an easy way to waste money. Plus, Esther never plays close enough to Everend.”

“None of that fancy stuff ever happens close to Everend. I guess it would be expensive and stuff to go,” Lute said. “Gah, never mind that, are you okay, Infia? This is the first time I’ve seen you since.”

“Are _you_ okay? You’re the one that was fighting. All I did was run away and stuff,” she replied, twiddling her feet.

“But now you’re the one without a mum, and you’ve been with the police since, right?”

“I,” she mouthed, clutching her skirt. “I didn’t get to change clothes. A-and it wasn’t very comfy sleeping here, either. B-b-but it’s alright, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m just moaning about little stuff. Mister Phoenix is going to take care of me now. And I’m still allowed to go back to Everend.”

“Phew, that’s alright then. Plus, you’re part of our team too, right? So things could get real fun soon!” he said, bouncing in excitement again.

“And dangerous,” she said.

“That too, but we’ll be okay as long as we all work together and stuff. You won’t need to worry,” he said, raising a paw.

“As long as you’re here, too,” she mumbled, looking away. She started blushing. “Thank you, Lute.”

Sophitia watched the two of them converse, resisting the urge to giggle at them. “_Man, that ship is in full swing. This kid has more going for him than he realises._”

“Here. Keep these in your belongings at all times,” Silver said, finally handing them some badges from a box. “They’re your team badges. They’ll beep and vibrate when you’re on call, so head to the nearest Deposit Box and scan them there. You’ll be transported to the nearest base, where a higher up can brief you.”

“And if a deposit box isn’t available, or it’s simply an S.O.S callout,” Lassic said. He held a badge forward in front of him. Pressing a button in the centre made a screen pop out in front of him, though the screen was holographic. “You can see the callout or a radar map of the signal from here. Of course, this also doubles as having a map of your nearby terrain anytime you need it, but it doesn’t work inside of mystery dungeons.”

“Wow, that’s so cool and useful! Putting the ‘agent’ in Agents of King’s Shield,” Lute said, admiring his badge.

“Also just seems a bit… yeah, it’s cool,” Sophitia said, unsure of hers. “This lets you know where we are constantly, doesn’t it?”

“Only while you’re on call. Our operators back here will only signal you in if you’re near the situation,” Silver said, showing them the surveillance screen.

“Oh yeah. That makes sense, I guess,” Sophitia said.

“Keep these badges on your being at all times. You’ll need them to activate things like the door I used to get in here. The screen also doubles as a diary and a scanner like the one that Meowstic used. You can also video call for free unlike your Wonder Orbs, but only with other agents. That function is not to be used in a public space,” Silver said, showing each function as she spoke about it.

“How many things can this one thing do? How does something like this even exist?” Sophitia cried.

“It’s all thanks to this genius. Once you understand how to work with V-Waves, it seems like you can create anything,” Silver said.

“Again, you make it seem so much more overwhelming than it is. But really, it’s no more advanced than a modified Wonder Orb,” Lassic said.

“Which in itself is a pretty impressive piece of tech,” Silver said.

“You can say that again,” Lute agreed.

“Now listen, you three. You aren’t exactly agents yet, and again, everything that happens here and regarding your operations involving Spirle are to be top secret. So don’t go showing anything off to your friends or making it obvious. We’ll know if you do. For now, you’re dismissed to go home. Go back the way you came, and we’ll be in contact with you again in the future,” Silver said, swiping an arm aside. “Agents: dismissed!”


	7. The First Callout

“Sophitia, hey, uh,” Lute said. The duo was in bed as usual. “I didn’t really get the chance earlier, but I wanted to thank you properly.”

“Me? What for? I mean I know I’m pretty great, but what for this time?”

“Oh ha ha. But seriously. I didn’t think that when you made me battle Victoria like that, it’d grow into this,” he said, shifting to sit up and look at her. He could hardly make out her curled-up figure in the dark. “It’s honestly been my dream to join the Agents of King’s Shield. I’m not exactly there yet, but thanks to you, I have a chance and stuff. And they even mentioned mystery dungeons.”

“Mm hmm.”

“At first I was upset about it, but life’s going to start getting exciting now. I just know it,” he said a little too loudly, so she hushed him. He sat back down, shuffling back under his blankets. “Before I found you, everything was just quiet and routine. Nothing ever happens here in Everend. Now we’re going to be having our own little adventure and stuff. We’ve got Esther’s show in a few days, I have this cool badge that does all this stuff, and we’re going to be helping take down Spirle. I’m still pretty scared about fighting them, but let’s do our best, okay?”

“Listen to me and you’ll be fine. No need to be scared of those louts,” she yawned. “Though I’d be lying if I said I was surprised by how strong Victoria really is.”

“You recovered from her attack well, though.”

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt a ton. I’m supposed to be super resilient, but that one really tore through me,” she said. Lute was quiet, making her lift a feeler to wave. “Don’t go telling Raiju and Cinder I admitted that. They’ll never shut up about it.”

“It’s not that, it’s… do you remember that about yourself?”

Sophitia went quiet. “I’ll chalk that to common knowledge about Sylveon in general.”

“Please tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t remember anything in particular. I just… look, when that was going on, I was getting really upset about it and all. When there’s Pokémon that need beatin’ up, it’s like a candle in me just lights up, and I don’t wanna stand around letting those Pokémon go. I guess I’m someone that enjoys fighting. Hope that’s not too much of a problem for you.”

“As long as we’re only fighting bad guys and we’re not hurting anyone.”

“Good, ‘cos I’ll make you into a fighter if it kills me.”

“… Wait what?”

…

The next morning, things fell right back into that routine Lute mentioned. The duo got woken up by Marina, had their wash, Sophitia overate at breakfast, and then the two were leisurely trotting to school. The usual stale weather was present, with its unmoving clouds and plain colours. All was quiet besides the sounds of morning chores and singing Pikipek.

When the school came into sight, that’s when the noise of activity took over and Pokémon became visible. From this distance, everything was as it should have been. Lute snuck a worried look into his bag, pretending to search through it.

“Remember what they said. Stuff’s gonna be normal for a while, and they’re not putting us on anything dramatic right away,” Sophitia said.

“Oh. Yeah, right,” he tried not to look disappointed. Everything he needed for school was in there, and the badge was well hidden. But it was untouched.

“Hmm. You’re so eager,” Sophitia giggled. Heat rushed to his cheeks.

“No I’m not. I’m just making sure nobody will find it,” he looked away. Sophitia giggled again, stopping with a sudden jolt. Lute got a jolt of his own, feeling a strong rumble close by. His bag was vibrating, and could only be heard with the surroundings this quiet. They exchanged glances and shared a sneaky look inside, and surely enough, the badge was vibrating, its central button glowing red.

“I-it really is… gods, is this a joke?” She said, pulling her badge out of her own belongings.

Lute ignored her annoyance and laughed eagerly, sprinting for the nearest cover beside a building. Holding the badge out before him, he pressed the button with a hearty shout, “browse!”

The map of Aseria appeared before them via a holographic projection. It was basic in terms of showing the land and sea, but was detailed in terms of labels and measurements, as well as being coloured in correctly. Part of the map blinked with a sonar pattern, then the screen zoomed into that location, showing a panoramic view of the exact area the signal was coming from.

“That’s Den City. It looks like the nature reserve that Mum mentioned,” Lute said.

“Wow, you grasped that quick. But there’s no message on the callout. Maybe they’re just testing that it’s working?” Sophitia said, putting her badge away. “Geez, right when school starts. What a joke.”

“I would’ve thought you’d want to get away from school. It didn’t seem like you enjoyed the place.”

“Eh, I just think it’s bad of them to go back on their word like this. We do have lives you know. C’mon, let’s go sort this out,” she said, looking around. “Uh, it’ll take us a while to get there, right?”

“Not if we use the Deposit Box. There’s one right here, right outside the school,” Lute called out, already several steps ahead. He was by the very tool they needed, a curious safe with odd, circular patterns of purple and gold decorating it. With gears on all four sides and a small, touch-sensitive screen on its side, it was the definition of out of place. It was out of the way of the school’s entrance, off to the side and away from the eyes of the obvious. “They said we just have it scan our badges, and it’ll take us to the nearest agent base.”

“How didn’t I see this thing before? And somehow, I was expecting the box to look different. But they’re the same as ever,” she said, smiling as she joined him. Lute continued to fiddle with the screen for a moment, and then froze, snapping to look up at her. “What?”

“What you just said.”

“What about it?”

“You know what a Deposit Box is? You said that as if you’ve seen one before.”

“Oh c’mon, everyone knows what a Deposit Box is. It’s just something that’s jogging my memory of small details, nothing important.”

“I don’t think so. Maybe where you come from, there are lots of Deposit Boxes. This is the only one in Everend, so barely anyone uses it besides travellers. I don’t even have anything stored in it,” Lute said, returning to the screen. “Here we are, user sign-in via pawprint. If I just press the badge onto it now…”

Sophitia tilted her head, warily stepping around him. She knew what the box was: a convenient storage for travellers that was placed in various locations all over the world, particularly outside of mystery dungeons. If you put something important inside one, you can take it out from any of the boxes in the world, and only you could do that, like some sort of digital storage for real-world items. It was a magical piece of tech that was a godsend to everyone.

But a screen? Pawprint scanning? Despite the box looking as she remembered, that was all new to her, so she refused to touch it. She was surprised when the box reacted to whatever Lute did to it, opening up to reveal a transparent, rainbow light from within. She was frightened, but Lute’s excitement seemed to be exploding.

“That’s the same portal as a Warp Orb. It worked!” he said. “C’mon Sophitia, let’s jump in.”

“We have to jump in that?” she squeaked.

“We already know where it’ll take us. C’mon, let’s go!” he said, backing up. She gulped and moaned but backed up with him anyway, and then they leapt together, disappearing into the light of the box. It sealed itself up and returned to normal as soon as they were in, leaving no evidence of its use at all.

…

Travelling through the warp was weird. It was like they were being carried by an underwater stream, only it didn’t hurt or irritate and their bodies felt under control. The rainbow colours spiralled around them to their sides, while their destination was a white light that grew bigger as they approached. It took seconds, yet it had the duo focused, their faces forward and intense while their paws were linked.

They were thrown back into the real world once they passed through the white light. Lute was surprised to find himself up in the air, but thanks to Sophitia holding his paw, the duo floated to the ground safely. The moment they did, his face went red and he leaned away, not knowing whether to retract or keep it there.

“U-uh, um, So-Sophitia?” he said. She was oblivious and looking around until he spoke.

“What? Is there- oh, you stupid kid!” she cried, pulling her paw away and slapping him with a feeler.

“What do you mean? You’re the one that held me first,” he cried, rubbing his face.

“Why would I hold- ugh, forget it, we don’t have time for this,” she said, shaking her head to focus. “It looks like we can warp between Deposit Boxes. This one took us to Den City, just like the badge showed us.”

Lute couldn’t help but stumble forwards to check. Once again, the Deposit Box was off to the side of the main road, well away from public view. But after just a few moments of walking, he could confirm that they were back in the populated, urban roads of Densan City’s main district. Not far from Silver’s nursery or the Ministry of Science, at that. The Deposit Box itself was on a ledge amongst some back-alley houses, so they’d have to climb down onto the road where they could blend right into the crowd.

“We really are. That was so fast,” she said, looking back and forth. “If everyone could travel the world that fast…”

“C’mon, let’s go! Whoever called for help, they may not have that much time,” Lute said, leading the way. Sophitia frowned at him and took over, using her feelers to push him back.

Their bickering didn’t get in the way of them admiring the area they were going to. As the two fought for who walked in front, they followed the signs and directions until they were inside the nature reserve. The closer they got, the more the population decreased and everything returned to the familiar quiet. There was still a sense of urban advancement even though woodland, hedges, and flowers took the place of the buildings, as things like metal poles topped with wires and electronic devices, gondola rails, and manholes dotted the scenery.

What was expected of a nature reserve actually resembled a museum instead, Sophitia thought. A museum that was outside. The paths were smoothly paved and hard, but all square and rigid as they made a maze around all the artefacts and displays. Said displays were no greater than various types of flowers, aged trees, and even a Combee hive. At least it reeked of soil wherever they went.

She couldn’t help but slow down as she passed that last one. They even had boards with information on them, as if they were ancient relics with lore and mystery surrounding them. It was unsettling, being surrounded by all of this basic, familiar nature and having it be treated this way. Everend wasn’t exactly lacking in green, so why did this place treat it all so carefully?

“Sunflower fields, Gracidea, berry trees… they’re not even rare berries, just basic Pinap and Chesto. If those are rare, then what the heck have I really been eating?” she whispered to herself, blinking.

“Whoa,” Lute gasped. His cry came from a distance, making her shake herself off and jog around a few corners to find him.

At the very edge of the reserve was a barrier that ran along the coastline as far as the eye could see, but the ocean was too far below them to hear. A huge, aged structure made entirely of rusted stone was smack bang in the corner of the area. It had an arch shaped entrance, enormous pillars keeping its ceiling held up, and the surface of every single side was engraved with dozens of markings, hieroglyphs, and drawings.

“Well at least they’re looking after it all,” she said after a few moments, blinking at it.

“I wanna go inside,” Lute whispered.

“The S.O.S didn’t show this, though. We need to keep looking—” she replied, turning around. “Never mind. Found the problem.”

“You hav- wah!” he joined her, flinching back. “What’re those things?”

She couldn’t answer. She wanted to ask the same thing. Sludgy monsters with murky, grimy substances oozing off of their large, bulky bodies. This sewage-coloured ooze shrouded most of their features, leaving just their general shape and the fabric head masks to distinguish them. There were three in total, two with long bodies and thin arms while the last was tall and wide with sharp scythes coming from both hands. Their masks were identical, mysteriously dry and textured like sandbags. Only their glowing red eyes peeked through the eyeholes, and they all groaned like monstrous zombies.

“Get ready to fight, Lute. That’s our enemy for sure,” Sophitia said, stretching her feet apart.

“Wait what? Those things?” he cried even louder. “I can’t fight those things. I don’t even know how to fight! What about you?”

“I still don’t remember my moves. It’s up to you.”

“What? No, I can’t do anything—”

“Well we’re gonna have to do _something_. Look, just trust me. Follow my orders and you’ll be okay,” she said with growing angst. The monsters had spotted them and showed signs of roaring, raising their arms like weapons. “Quick, remind me of your moves!”

“Quick Attack and Swift. And maybe Bite. That’s all I know. And I don’t normally use them for battle,” he replied. The panic on his face turned her mind upside-down.

“How the heck do you use those moves not for- look forget it, here comes one!” she shouted, locking her eyes onto the enemy. Just like that, her mind righted itself, and she formulated fast. The biggest monster had come running first, sword-like arms raised and an excited growl coming from it. “Lute, use Quick Attack to get away to the side!”

The Eevee cried out a petty squeal, but knowing the order was to get away gave him the strength to act. He shook himself to bring up that strength, surrounding his body in white, and then leapt toward the plants, skidding across the ground. The monsters turned on him, and the one that came towards them had stopped to reconsider.

“Now use Swift. Aim for the head,” Sophitia shouted.

He had many questions, but the enthusiasm in her voice was infectious. He just acted on it, raising his front legs briefly. White stars formed below his front paws, which he threw by crossing both paws with a cry of effort. The two stars spun through the air like paper planes, swerving and curling until they hit their target, where they hit its bulky chest and blew up into tiny blasts.

“Wah, no effect!” Lute cried, leaning away.

“You gotta put effort into it. And I said aim for the head!” Sophitia shouted, leaping over to him. The monster roared and raised its arms, stomping toward him again. “It’s slow, so move!”

Lute cried like a baby but obeyed, just about escaping those arms as they smashed into the ground. Dents were left where the monster just was, dents so deep it was difficult to pull its arms out of it. It still turned to him though, fury drooling from its deep, low growl.

“Now’s your chance, aim for the head with Quick Attack!” she commanded, still on her way over to him.

“But Sophitia, I’m not strong enough,” he cried.

“Just trust me, give it your all!”

Lute still hesitated, even though the monster was bent over, arms in the floor, growling at him in frustration. He gulped, breathing heavily and quickly. This thing must have been ten times Sophitia’s size, making it dozens of times his own. Could he really beat it just because she said he could?

Of course he could. He was an Agent of King’s Shield now.

Whether he wanted to or not, he had to. The thought echoed through his mind repeatedly, and he stretched his feet apart. He strained with all his might and tensed up his body, putting his all into the best Quick Attack he could muster. With a cry of might, he charged into it, hitting its head so hard that the monster leaned right back, its arms freed from the floor.

“That’s it! Now Swift, from point blank!” Sophitia shouted, an excited smile on her face.

Lute’s eagerness let him respond to the command right away, and he repeated his actions from earlier to throw his Swift attack. He could feel the force of the blasts from how close he was to the creature’s face, smoke and light muffling his sight and hearing.

For the first time in his life, he felt a thrill, a triumphant thrill that made him smile goofily at his achievement. He’d attacked well and shown that monster who was boss, and it was all thanks to Sophitia.

Or so he thought. Those feelings shrivelled away into regret, total fear, and anxiety when the smoke cleared to reveal the monster’s face. The whole moment took seconds, yet it felt like minutes to Lute, minutes where he told himself he shouldn’t have believed Sophitia. Minutes where he desperately searched for a way to avoid getting hit, but couldn’t find a solution besides bracing for the worst. The monster’s sharp arms were raised, and they were moving faster than Lute was falling back to the ground. It raised them high, roared, and then slammed both down into him, smashing him into the cold pavement below.

“Lute!” Sophitia shrieked.

But the monster didn’t respond to her at all. All combatants watched the dust clear until Lute was revealed to be in a crater, his body covered in bruises and dirt. Even still, the monster raised its arms again, throwing Sophitia into a panic.

Her instincts exploded, and she threw herself into that crater, looking as though she tripped over and rolled across the ground. Her paws hugged him tight while her feelers rose high and whipped, and then the next thing she knew, she was straining against that giant’s arms. She was on her back so she could only roll away at this point, but not with Lute’s harmed body cradled by her stomach. One feeler was held high above her face with a giant shield made of pink light formed around the tip, the shield strong enough to hold back both of the monster’s arms.

“Urgh, get the heck off me!” she shouted, whipping one of her free feelers away. A sword made of the same light as that shield formed at the tip, giving her whip motion that much more force. The monster recoiled hard enough to make the ground rumble, stumbling away.

“S-Sophitia!” Lute gasped. He didn’t care about how much his body hurt right now. All he was interested in was the glowing shield and Sword Sophitia held.

“You good to go?” she said, rolling over to set him down. He cringed as his feet burnt, but a moan and a shiver and he was standing fine. “Okay. Let’s finish this.”

“Wait what? But what about- you just- aren’t we gonna talk about this? This, this is awesome! What is that attack?” he said, laughing maniacally. “You really _are_ that great, Sophitia!”

“Will you focus? There’s three of them,” she replied, baring her fangs. The three sludgy monsters had sided with one another, but the centre one had a huge cut in its centre. The other two looked as though they were fretting, exchanging growls and groans. Before either Eeveelution could ask, the monsters shrunk down and melted their forms into sludgy puddles a fraction of their sizes.

“What?” lute whispered, leaning away.

“Come on ya big drip! Where ya goin’?” Sophitia said as she leapt after them. The three puddles slid away from her though, up the wall, over the barrier, and into the sea. She stopped at the edge and leapt up to look over the wall at them, where they faded into the ocean’s colourless waves below.

“Hey, careful you don’t fall,” Lute said, wanting to pull her down. She frowned and groaned, hopping down.

“Got away. What weird monsters. Are they newly discovered Pokémon?”

“I-I wish! Wait, no I don’t wish, they were horrible things. But they’re probably Pokémon,” Lute said, shaking himself.

“They were abominations!” a duo of girls answered. Lute and Sophitia turned in surprise, spotting a Flabébé and a Floette floating before the ruins.


	8. Fairies and Seasons

** **

“Abominations?” Lute blinked at the two fairy types.

“Yes. The Pokémon call those abominations ‘The Risen’,” the Floette said. Her voice was serene and unexpectedly loud, but calm for a Pokémon of her size. “The Risen are monsters who have been showing up around this area recently. My field of Safeguard usually keeps them out, but those three slipped through. The Risen have been increasing in strength since their appearance, and have now reached the stage where I may no longer be able to keep them away.”

“It’s good thing they called us, then. Last thing we want are those… plants getting ruined,” Sophitia said, looking away. “What is this place, anyway? It stands out so much.”

“The arch? It is a relic of history. Part of this nature preserve. Me and my sister Florrie, the Flabébé here, serve as protectors of relics like these,” Floette said. “Come, children. Let us reward you for your valiant efforts.”

“I er, it was Sophitia that did everything, though. I was too weak to hurt them,” Lute said, blushing.

“Nonsense. We watched your boundless bravery,” Floette said, floating right in front of him. She seemed to hesitate, and then slipped forward and kissed him on the slips, to which he recoiled immediately and spat.

“Hey what gives?” he exaggerated. Sophitia and Florrie palmed their faces.

“Oh my. I would have thought that would be but a small act of appreciation for our saviours, but it appears to be your distaste,” Floette said, rubbing her face.

“Your way of rewarding Pokémon is a kiss? That’s gross!” Lute cried.

“Might’ve worked in the 90s,” Sophitia shrugged.

“For crying out loud sis, they’re clearly kids. They’re not gonna appreciate somethin’ like that,” Florrie cried, shaking her flower. Her voice was just as strong as Floette’s, but much younger and rougher.

“Then what could I repay them with, Florrie?”

“You don’t need to pay ‘em. They’re kids, they don’t know anything,” she said, blowing raspberries.

“But they came to our aid when nobody else did. And the Sylveon has shown remarkable strength. There is no doubt about it, they are our heroes, the ones who responded to our awakening,” Floette said, facing them.

“Us? Na-uh, I’m just a Sylveon with memory loss,” Sophitia said.

“But we are training to be heroes with the Agents of King’s Shield. Maybe this is like, the start of our adventure for real!” Lute said, bouncing.

“Our ‘adventure’? I never heard anything about adventuring. Just about getting this done with so we can get back to school on time,” she replied.

“Seriously, why’re you so worried about school now?” Lute said, half-lidded. “C’mon, at least hear what they have to say. Maybe they know something about that really cool sword and shield attack you used.”

“We know not of the unusual powers you used just now, I’m afraid,” Floette said, and they frowned. “But your usage of those strange moves instils my certainty that you are the important Pokémon we are meant to meet.”

“Geez sis, you’re a fool’s fool, you know that? Or fate’s fool, anyway,” Florrie said.

“We fairies are important to Planet Aseria. We only awaken when the planet is in danger, where it is our duty to pass on knowledge and guidance to heroes that can resolve the planet’s crisis,” Floette said, floating toward some markings on the old wall. It looked like groups of Pokémon worshipping the sun, though that sun was very rigid and octagonal. “Look closely. The Pokémon of Aseria worship the Shaymin, and through their blessings, the Shaymin control the weather around the planet.”

“The weather? The Shaymin must’ve been some really cool and powerful Pokémon,” Lute’s eyes gleamed. Sophitia tilted her head, sceptical of the story.

“But we have been outside. Weather ceases to exist. The seasons do not cycle, and the weather is stale. If this continues, life on Planet Aseria will die.”

“Doesn’t that seem a bit much? I’m pretty sure we can live without wind or a cold winter,” Sophitia said, half lidded.

“Many plants and even Pokémon rely on various weather conditions or the wind to sustain themselves. Pollination, necessary temperature conditions for living, and more. With the weather in this critical state, those Pokémon will surely suffer. Our task this time is to aid the hero in their restoration of the weather.”

“Well I’m afraid we wouldn’t know a thing about anything to do with that. How to restore the weather or anything, if it really is not working properly,” Sophitia said.

“That… you must know. My call would not reach anyone but the hero, and you are the ones that came to our aid,” Floette said, beginning to sweat.

“See? Told you you’re fate’s fool. Embarrassed yet?” Florrie said.

“I’m sorry. If I knew how to fix the weather, I’d definitely do it. Maybe your call got mixed up with the same frequency as the badge?” Lute said, revealing it. “Are you guys Agents of King’s Shield, too?”

The two fairies exchanged glances, the Flabébé laughing out loud at her sister’s face. Floette blushed, shutting her eyes. “I apologise greatly for you getting involved this way, but you are likely right. It appears my telepathy has gotten mixed up with your technology.”

“Still though, as funny as this is, you kids put up a pretty good fight,” Florrie said, swirling around them.

“Yes. The fact remains that you came to our aid and rescued us in a time of need. We are in your debt. We cannot pay you in currency, but if you should ever need us for a task, do not hesitate to ask. We owe you much,” Floette said.

“Maybe you can help us find out about Sophitia’s cool sword and shield attack?” Lute said excitedly.

“School, Lute. We gotta get back there,” Sophitia said.

“We will search. Our role means we must stay within the vicinity of this area, but we will do our best to find out about your mysterious attack,” Floette said.

“_You_ will do your best to find out about their move. I ain’t doing any charity work! Save your energy for the real hero, sis,” Florrie said.

“… Yes, _I_ will do my utmost to search,” she said. “What are your names, young Pokémon?”

“I’m Lute, and she’s Sophitia.”

“We will remember them. Remember that we are here, and we can help you with what is within our power. Until then, we will remain here in waiting for the true hero,” Floette said. She spun and vanished in a flash, her sister following a moment later. Their voices echoed afterward, implying they were still there but invisible. Lute waited until he was sure all was silent before turning to Sophitia.

“I guess they’re gone. At least they may be able to help,” he said. “Let’s go! Silver’s gonna be so proud of us.”

Geez, you’re a little pet, aren’t ya?” Sophitia said, rolling her eyes and walking off. “I doubt they know anything about who I was. They’re pretty weird Pokémon.”

“It’s worth a try, still. Anyone could know you,” he said, following after her. “And all that stuff about a legendary hero… what if that’s what you really are? That’d be amazing, Sophitia!”

“You’re starting to really push the idea that I’m some super special Pokémon or something. I’m not some ‘legendary hero’ or anything, I’m just a Sylveon. Got that?”

“But… you couldn’t be. I saw you walk across water. And you took on those Spirle guys like it was nothing, too. And now you beat those Risen with a cool attack! You can’t _not_ be a special Pokémon, Sophitia.”

The Sylveon raised her head with an exaggerated groan. “Forget about me already! You’ve got bigger problems to deal with in your own life already.”

“I… do?”

“Yes. You do. Like Infia.”

“Infia? What about Infia?”

“She – uh, I can’t tell you exactly. But let’s just say it’s more obvious than a doughnut in a pile of belue berries. But of all the Pokémon not to realise, _you_ haven’t. It’s annoying to hear you fretting over me when you should be worrying about her.”

“I erm, I feel bad because you’re getting worked up, but I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, starting to sweat. Sophitia went half lidded, and then rummaged through her bag, pulling out a long strip of thick paper.

“Look, Esther’s show is this weekend, right? And you saw how excited she was when she found out we could go.”

“She didn’t get a ticket, though. And she wouldn’t be able to go, anyway. Her mum is… oh, right. Where is she even living, now?” he replied, rubbing his chin.

“See the thing is, I don’t really like this place. Too much loud noise and scary technology. I don’t think I even wanna find out what a pop gig is like,” she said, pushing the ticket towards Lute. “So you’re gonna invite her to the show instead. And you two are gonna go.”

Lute raised an eyebrow. “Is this why you wanted to go to school so badly? To see Infia and give her the ticket?”

“_Gods, he figured THAT out but he can’t figure out that she likes him super badly? For goodness sakes!_” she cried in her head. “N-no. Not at all. I genuinely do not wanna go to this city for a pop gig. I can barely stand this place as it is.”

“Why do I have to give it to her, though? And what does any of this have to do with a problem with my life?” he said, taking the ticket anyway.

Sophitia went half lidded again. “You know what? I’m just gonna go with: don’t ask questions you know you’re not gonna understand the answer to.”

“Aww what? C’mon, just tell me.”

“Na-uh. Just make sure you invite her on your terms. Even if she asks, it was you that decided to invite her instead, right?”

“That’s lying, but—”

“It doesn’t matter what it is! Just do it, okay?”

“Okay okay, geez. You’re even more worked up over Infia. Why is she a ‘problem’, though?”

“You two?” Silver called out, making them both face forward. Just as they were leaving the nature reserve, the Goodra spotted them and rushed over. “What are you doing here? Don’t the two of you have school?”

“We do, but you called us. Or well, the base did. Our badges went off, we followed the radar, and then used the Deposit Box to get here,” Sophitia said.

Silver’s mouth hung open, and she hesitated. “We didn’t call you, though.”

“Huh?” Lute replied, turning around. “But we got called to the nature reserve. There were unidentified Pokémon there, and the fairies called them Risen. We had a really hard time defeating them, but Sophitia managed to drive them away.”

“I was in the base this whole morning. There have been no callouts to any agents. And even if there was a need, we would not call our newest recruits for a mission that dangerous,” Silver become stern. “If you two are abusing your perks, your badges will be revoked immediately and you will be arrested. I hope you’re aware of that.”

“But we’re—”

“Let it go, Lute,” Sophitia said, pinching him with a feeler. “I’m sorry, Silver. But we’re on our way back to school right now.”

“Good. Don’t let me see you skipping school like this again.”

“It wasn’t on purpose, though,” Lute moaned.

“Your guess was probably right, though. The fairies and their telepathy got mixed up with the badges,” Sophitia said, leading them off again.

“Still not fair we got told off for it, though,” he grumbled.

Silver watched them disappear into the crowds of Densan City’s main district, her face unchanging of the twisting concern their ramblings brought up. She had been on her way to the now empty nature reserve, but ran off back towards her nursery instead, pushing and shoving away all the smaller Pokémon in her way.

Once out of the noisy crowd, she went straight for the base, bursting into the main room with more goo dripping off her than usual. All eyes turned to her, even those working on the computers.

“Where is Lassic? Is he here?” she asked.

“What’s the matter?” the Delphox replied, coming from underneath one of the desks. He had a few papers in his paws.

“Did you callout the new recruits? Lute and Sophitia. They were here in the nature reserve,” she said.

“They were the children we had in here the other day, weren’t they? No, I didn’t. There was no reason to,” he said, folding his arms.

“The nature reserve miraculously becoming vacant, alongside reports of Risen, then they showed up there, saying that someone called them there via telepathy, but the telepathy got confused with the frequency the badges use for communication. They knew about the Risen as well,” Silver said, pacing.

“Wonderful. They learnt about the Risen even though we tried to hide them,” Lassic replied. He snickered and scratched his chin. “It’s just like I thought. Those two would be worth keeping an eye on.”

“Anyone attached to Marina usually is. But I don’t understand why any of this happened,” Silver said.

“That’s not important. We just need to continue observing them,” Lassic nodded.

…

School wound up being as problematic as expected. Lute and Sophitia arrived in the middle of a lesson and couldn’t give a reasonable excuse as to why they missed so much, of course. Questions were asked but the secret of them being part of the Agents of King’s Shield was kept, and all soon settled into the shenanigans of an ordinary day.

At least until lunch time. Cinder and Raiju attempted to rush off as per usual to eat and chat at their usual favourite spot, but Lute had his little errand to do, and so waited. The other Pokémon left the room in their noisy and excited groups, and through it all he searched for Infia, hoping she’d stay back like she usually did. But to his dismay, even after everyone had left besides but Anbi and his group, Infia was nowhere to be found.

“So… why were we waitin’ again?” Raiju asked, a goofy smile on his face.

“It’s a secret. AKA none of your business,” Sophitia said, brushing his nose with a feeler.

“I don’t get it though. Where is Infia?” Lute asked with a worried look.

“So you are looking for her. Didn’t you see her leave with the others? She’s been acting really different since _that_ happened,” Cinder said.

“Different as in?” Lute said.

“Hanging out on the roof, super distracted in class, totally blanking when the other Pokémon tease her… I’m not sure whether I like it or not,” he said.

“I really need to talk to her. G-guess I’ll go find her,” Lute replied, walking off.

“We’ll wait here for ya then!” Sophitia said, a bright smile on her face, fangs and all. The others raised an eyebrow at her.

“Right. Okay, I won’t be long, but feel free to start without me,” Lute said, giggling. Sophitia waited until he was gone before lowering her feelers, giggling excitedly to herself.

“Looks like I get you from the get-go, huh?” Cinder said, facing her. “Please don’t tell me you made him ask her out?”

“And what if I did?”

“Isn’t that a good thing? It’s kinda obvious it’s hurtin’ her,” Raiju said.

“I guess it is a good thing, but it’s also not right for us to intervene, you know? It’s easy to do more damage than good,” Cinder said. Sophitia blinked, her smile slowly vanishing.

“They’ll be fine. Trust me, the timing’s right,” she said.

The roof was easy to get to by following the stairs at the end of the hallway. Here was a spacious area of dusty tiles surrounded on all sides by a very tall caging. Despite being a roof area, this area had a ceiling, keeping all of it in shadow.

You could see most of Everend and the surrounding fields from here, and that was exactly what Infia was looking at. She was at the far end of the area looking out at the town alone in silence. Lute couldn’t help but go quiet when he noticed her, but took more notice of the fact that this area was cold and lacked any wind.

“Infia,” he said when he was close to her.

“Lute?” she gasped. She didn’t look as surprised as she sounded.

“You’re here all alone. Is something wrong?” he said.

“No, not really. Just thinking a lot about all that stuff that’s happened,” she said, turning to the scenery. Lute joined her side, and the two sat down. “Hey, lute… can I ask you a question?”

“You don’t even need to ask. Just say,” he said, smiling.

“A-are you weirded out by me? I m-mean how I, um, you know, have to wear nappies and all,” she said, trying not to make eye contact.

“Uh, I did think it was weird at first. But it’s something you can’t help, right? Not like it affects me,” he said, smiling at her. There was a pause. “So I guess no, I’m not weirded out.”

“You don’t have to pretend to be nice about it or anything. It’s fine if you think I’m nasty or gross or something. Everyone thinks I am.”

“I’m not pretending. If anything, I’d say you worry too much about being polite. You’re always saying sorry and stuff. Mum did a real good job teaching you,” he said. Infia shrivelled up a bit, and as if realising what he’d just said after a second, Lute did the same. “Well, I mean, like, you’re just a really nice person and I couldn’t imagine willingly being mean to you. And you’re definitely not gross.”

“This is, um, just a ‘what if’ question, and nothing related to real life or anything happening, but… if I was to suddenly disappear one day, what would you do?”

Lute faced the scenery again, his smile fading. “I’d definitely be sad. One of my friends would’ve disappeared. We may not talk much, but I’d notice and stuff, you know?”

There was another pause, and she still wasn’t looking at him. “You’re not having to move house or something are you?”

“No. They let me keep Mum’s- I mean Victoria’s house. One of the agents is looking after me at home instead. It’s a Fennekin called Phoenix. He’s really quiet, so not much has changed there. He’s not at home all that much too,” she said, slowly facing the scenery as well.

“Oh. So you’re by yourself a lot, huh?” he said. No response. “Well uh, I actually came here to ask you something, too.”

“Hmm?”

Lute handed her the ticket. “Sophitia said she doesn’t want to go to Esther’s show this weekend, and I know how much you wanted to go and stuff, so I wondered if you wanted to come with me instead.”

“Y-you’re asking me? T-t-to go with you? On a—” she squeaked, going bright red. She froze there, taking in a sharp breath. “Wait, Sophitia or Raiju or someone didn’t tell you to ask me, did they?”

“Huh? No, I knew you wanted to go too,” he said, flinching and looking away. Infia turned right around to look if anyone else was there, gawking at the open space that watched them. “I-is everything alright? I-I don’t mean to intrude if I’m doing anything—”

“N-no, I just- sorry about that. I’ll have to ask Phoenix, but yes, I want to go with you, Lute. I’m actually really happy you asked me,” she said, blushing. “I-I’ll have to get a new dress. And find a way to cover up, um, you know what.”

“New clothes? Why would you need new clothes?”

“I can’t go on a da- erm, go to a special thing looking like this!”

“But you look fine. And, to be honest, I don’t think you have to do anything to cover the nappy, either. Nobody at all could tell until you said,” Lute said, snickering.

“This old thing?” Infia cried, brushing her tutu. “No way! You just don’t understand clothes, Lute. You don’t wear any.”

“If you say so,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Even though you guys know about the nappy, I don’t want anyone else finding out, you know? It’s still embarrassing. You have to keep it a secret, please!”

“Of course! I get that at least.”

“I just- argh, Lute, I,” she said, starting to look restless. “I erm, I just, I, I—”

“Is everything okay? Calm down, I’m not going anywhere,” he said, smiling cheekily. She held her breath for a second, staring at him. She couldn’t help shiver still. “There’s no need to be nervous. It’s just us. Take your time.”

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” she shouted, covering her mouth.

“Whoa I er… I dunno. I’m nice to all Pokémon who’re nice to me, and you’re one of them. I don’t get how to explain that one.”

“Sorry, I...”

“There you go apologising again. It’s actually pretty cute, Infia,” he said, giggling.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them, she made sure she was looking Lute in the eyes. “Lute… I’m… you’re the only reason I’m still here.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know, either. You’re just – I don’t know what it is about you, but I’ve always felt some kind of, connection with you, a special connection unlike what I’ve felt with anyone else. From the time I first saw you with your friends.”

“Huh? Did I do something you really like or something?”

She laid a paw on her chest. “I know this doesn’t make any sense at all, but it doesn’t feel like a Pokémon feeling.”

“Like a Pokémon feeling?”

“You know, like an emotion or sensation. It doesn’t feel like any of those things. I just feel like the both of us aren’t like any other Pokémon, and because of that, you’re the only reason I’m still here, doing my best to live.”

“Infia, wait. You believe in legends and stuff too, don’t you?” Lute gasped.

“Huh?”

“You know, like how we’re both Agents of King’s Shield now. And now with Sophitia here and stuff. Yeah, something really cool’s definitely gonna happen soon if we stick together. It’s fate,” he said. Her face was blank. “I’m not strong yet, but I’m trying. If we have each other’s backs, I know we’ll get through anything in our way.”

Infia stayed blank for a while, and then stepped away, tucking her paws behind her back. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Infia?”

She turned around and smiled at him. “I’m really happy you asked me to come with you, Lute.”


	9. The Date

The rest of that week was a slog. Even though it had been proven to be a mistake, Lute was fully expecting his King’s Shield badge to go off again and constantly checked it whenever he had the free time to do so. But it didn’t vibrate or blink even once, leading to days that felt longer than ever before.

He was able to adjust back to the normal schedule, at least. Early rising, squabbles with Sophitia, her overeating at breakfast, and then a jog to school. Once there, Raiju’s antics would ensue whilst Lute’s group worked together on their projects, though there was a lot more teasing about Lute and Infia’s date from the lot of them. It wasn’t anything he’d complain about though, as it kept him focused and smiling. He loved his friends, school life, and wouldn’t change any of it even with his new job as a secret agent.

Then came the weekend at last. When Lute woke up that morning, Marina and Sophitia were far more excited than he was, showing cheeky smiles with fangs and gleeful messages all day, even though he tried to carry on as normal. The plan was for Infia to meet at their house so that they could make their way to Densan City during sunset, where they’d have a little bit of time to kill and be early for the performance.

“Is it done yet?” Lute whined. Sophitia giggled at him, ignoring him as she continued to fasten buttons on a shirt. Stepping away to admire her work, Lute now possessed his first costume thanks to her. A black, sleeveless shirt had been fitted around his waist, while a tiny bow tie poked through the front of his mane. “It’s so tight and stuffy.”

“Careful with your head, too. All that gel and water keeps your fur in place so that you look smart,” Marina said. He had to resist the urge to scratch an itch, and grumbled instead. Looking in a mirror, the shirt was barely visible and just matted down his fur, while the work on his head fur had only straightened his usual style so that it couldn’t get messier.

“You guys are way too excited about this,” he sighed. The front door knocked just then, setting off the girl’s squeals.

“She’s here she’s here! Go answer it Lute, and chin up,” Marina said. He grumbled again, obeying anyway.

It was Infia at the door. He switched thanks to her appearance, which looked unexpectedly cleaner than her usual look at school. Her pigtails were smoother and styled properly, while the yellow colour of her fur was shiny from how clean it was. She was wearing a white and pink sleeveless shirt that only covered her chest, and a frilly tutu that shimmered with pinks, purples, and glitter. Bow ties adorned her right ear and chest.

For the first time ever, Lute was overwhelmed by her appearance. He felt himself choke inside and didn’t know what to say or do to rectify it besides staring and gawking. When she said she was going to get new clothing, the last thing he was expecting was something so girly, something that brought out the definition of ‘cute’ within her.

He could physically feel his body heating up the longer they stared like this, both from the tightness of his new shirt and the new feelings he was experiencing with her. “U-um. Hi.”

“Ahaha, you dressed up, too?” she replied with a squeak, going red as well.

“Don’t stand out there like that, come in, come in!” Marina rushed over to show her inside. “Lute, I expected better from you.”

“E-er, sorry. You didn’t have trouble getting here by the way, did you?” he said, sweating.

“No. I remember the way from before,” she said with a bow. “Thank you so much for having me over, Miss Aska.”

“Please, just Marina is fine. I’m surprised you came on your own, though. Didn’t your new carer worry?” Marina said.

“Mister Phoenix is actually working at the show tonight, that was why he let me go in the first place. Lute, Sophitia, did you know that he was Esther’s bodyguard?” Infia said.

“Wait, seriously? You mentioned him not being around much, but I guess that’s why. Who would’ve thought he’d be working with someone famous? Lucky you,” Lute said.

“Yes. So he’s going to be there anyway, and if anything happens, he’ll be able to help protect us,” she said.

“That’s perfect!” Marina cheered, standing on her hind legs. “Take some water, now. You two had best be off. And look after her, Lute!”

“Yeah Lute, you had better treat her better than you treat me,” Sophitia said, half lidded.

“You two,” Lute groaned. Infia blushed and laughed lightly, then exchanged nods with her partner. “But they’re right. Let’s get going.”

“Oh and Lute. If you’re gonna be home late, you’re allowed to use the badge,” Sophitia said. Lute glanced at his, nodded, and then they were off.

There was silence between the two for a while, leaving Lute to take in the late surroundings of Everend. It was quieter than usual thanks to Pokémon no longer working. Instead, what little noise came from their feet walking through the light grass and road. It wasn’t until the gondola station came into sight that Lute realised that Infia hadn’t said a word, diligently following him the whole time.

He turned to say something, but the moment he saw her again, that heated feeling filled his chest. For the first time ever, he felt like a girl he was with was out of his league. But that girl was Infia, the shy Minun who he’d known throughout all his years at school. For some reason, that made it even harder to talk to her.

“_Just say something, Lute. What’s wrong with me?_” he complained in his mind, slapping his face lightly. He stopped in the middle of the station to check for times, and then realised that the gondola they needed was leaving this very minute. “Ack, Infia, run!”

“Huh?”

“It’s that one. Platform two. Quick!” he said, dragging her arm. He quickly let go to scan his ticket and sprint quicker than the barriers could open, not stopping until he was within the doorways of that gondola. It hadn’t left yet, but the bleeping sound gave away the closing doors, so he stood in between to stop them from shutting. Thankfully she was right behind him the whole time and he didn’t need to actually do that.

“Phew, that was a lucky one. Wish we didn’t have to run,” he huffed. The Klefki conductor was already in the ceiling, rotating and letting the gondola move. “Infia?”

She was crouched, holding down her tutu and gasping for breath. She was sweating far more than he was. In fact, she was sweating excessively as if she had run a marathon. “Infia, are you alright?”

“Y-yes,” she said, still huffing. She took over a minute to catch her breath and regain her voice, to which he helped her to the seats on the side of the carriage. He flinched away the moment he realised they were touching paws however, not just because of the gesture, but because of the white, flowered wristbands she was wearing. He somehow hadn’t seen them before.

“I-is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, it’s just, your clothes,” he hung his head. “You look _really_ fancy right now and I’m scared of getting that dirty and stuff.”

“Oh, thank you! It’s actually just an Esther cosplay. I’ve had this for ages but I’ve never been brave enough to wear it until now. I’m not a fan of showing my tummy,” she said, going red. “I just thought I had to this time; you know? This might be the only time I ever get to see Esther live on stage. I’ve got to show how much of a fan I am.”

“It makes you look so cute. I just didn’t know what to say for the longest time,” he snickered. “Do you mind explaining that to me, though? What’s wrong with showing your tummy?”

Infia’s face went an even deeper red. “It’s, um, I don’t know how to – it’s just something I’m not comfortable with showing. Normally.”

“If you were missing fur or something, I guess you could be embarrassed.”

“It’s a girl thing.”

“It is? But Sophitia and Mum are fine without clothes. So was Silver.”

“It doesn’t apply if you’re not wearing clothes to begin with!” she squeaked.

“Still, it’s all a bother to me. I can’t stand this shirt; it makes me feel like my fur’s gonna explode or something.”

“Wait, you don’t like it? Why did you wear it?”

“Mum and Sophitia made me. They said I had to if I was going to this.”

“I like it, but there’s no point in wearing clothes if you don’t like it. C’mon, let’s take it off!” she became serious.

“You’re okay with me not wearing it?”

“Only wear it if you want to. I-I don’t like it when other Pokémon try to tell us what to do. Do you want to wear it?”

“Heck no!”

“Then let’s take it off!” she bounced over. Lute felt his face heat up again from how close she was now, freezing up as she curled her paws around to undo the shirt buttons. She only managed two of them before he subconsciously retracted.

“I-I’ve got the rest,” he said. He had to sit down to access them, but thanks to her, it was easy. The shirt was off. “Do you want it?”

“The shirt?” she squeaked. “Black’s not my colour.”

“I’m probably never going to wear this again though.”

She started laughing. “You’re crazy, Lute. That or you just really hate clothes.”

“I don’t like clothes. It’s just pointless,” he blushed a little. Slipping the shirt into his bag, he sat beside her, watching the darkening scenery scroll by below. Densan City was visible in the distance, its skyline lit up by dozens of glittering lights that turned its towering structures into silhouettes. He smiled at it. “This is my first time leaving Everend because of something fun. Excited to see Esther?”

“Oh you have no idea! I-I don’t know if I ever show it, but she’s my idol, Lute,” she said, paws pressed together. “I have all her music TMs. And I’m always following her in magazines. The things she says in interviews, she’s a perfect Pokémon.”

“A perfect Pokémon?”

“Her music is perfect. Her clothes are perfect. She’s always being nice to everyone and her music is all about fighting against evil. She’s the heroine of music, Lute! When I get bigger, I want to be just like her,” she said. Looking at her now, this was all Lute needed to see to know that Sophitia made the right choice forfeiting her ticket. The Minun’s eyes were glistening and her voice was certain, as if her whole figure was shining.

“No you… really don’t show it. I had no idea you were into music and stuff like this,” he said. “Quick, tell me everything you know about Esther. I’ve never actually heard her music.”

“For real Lute? She’s incredible. How can I show you… oh, like this. She has these dance moves, and I use them in my cheerleader routine,” she said. She stood up to clear space and made sure the gondola wasn’t shaking much before starting, and then raised her paws high. She started humming an upbeat tune to herself, followed by tapping one foot. That then turned into a careful slide to the right, then a spin into a fancy pose where she held an invisible microphone by her mouth.

Lute watched with a warm smile as she twisted and posed around the gondola, humming that tune like it was second nature. Her eyes shut until she was close to the wall, and before long, he could hear her whispering lyrics to herself. She was whispering just loud enough for a tone to come out, and that’s when he began to gawk.

She was dancing and singing to herself. Despite knowing nothing about the medium himself, he felt that what she was doing was special. The way her movements were choreographed with careful steps and precise movements of her arms and feet, it was like she was drawing a picture with her body and animating it, blurring the background into whatever she wanted in the process. And with her singing at the same time, he couldn’t picture anyone not wanting to watch her right now.

She suddenly froze and opened her eyes, and then she hid behind her paws, her face turning red. “I-I-I’m sorry!”

“Wha-what? What for, why’d you stop?”

“I-I g-g-got carried away,” she squeaked.

Lute’s face twisted a bit, and he attempted to utter a response, thinking carefully. “You’re embarrassed, but I really thought you were good at that. I didn’t know you were so good at dancing, Infia.”

“I’m not! They were just Esther’s moves. I’m just a copycat,” she said, looking away.

“I-I still think that was great,” he said, silencing when she went to sit back down. She had gone cold and stiff, refusing to look at him.

“Thank you, Lute.”

He didn’t know what to say after that. His chest choked him up again, filling his head with thoughts of what he might’ve done wrong. Did he look at her funny while she was dancing? Did he say something wrong? Did he remind her of some bad memory? He’d never know, so now it was his determination to not do anything else wrong for the rest of the night.

They arrived not long after thankfully, so any further conversation made itself. Stepping out of the gondola station should’ve felt familiar, but he found himself gawking and laughing at the entirely new persona the city had taken on.

The once overcrowded streets were nearly empty, lined with trampled pavement and litter on the sides. Streetlights made golden circles that marked where the floor was wet, though the still air kept the area colder than it looked. The voices of chatting Pokémon could still be heard from open windows, while gondolas that were still active throughout the city noisily streamed above. There was enough light for the area to not feel sleepy despite the night sky darkening everything.

Their destination was in the main district, straight ahead from the gondola station. It still took a good twenty minutes to reach, but the increasing number of young Pokémon around, groups of friends chatting and excitedly crowding, told them they were on the right track.

Lute was looking at more than that, however. He recalled the area as the Ministry of Science, the complex of labs and offices where Aseria’s technology was being researched and developed. He thought it an odd place for a pop star performance until he was here, where an enormous garden provided more than enough space for the audience and the stage. There must have been over a thousand Pokémon here already, yet there was plenty of room for the garden’s many shapes of grass and flowers. The building behind the stage was the tallest building visible from the skyline, a straight, grey tower lined with shiny, tinted glass.

“We’re here… we’re here, we’re here, we’re here we’re here we’re here!” Infia squealed, bouncing up and down. She was hugged up against Lute, accidently releasing a light spark.

“Wah, careful!” he giggled.

“Sorry, but we’re here I can’t believe it we’re really here!” she screamed. “C’mon, let’s get a good spot near the front.”

“Uh okay,” he kept giggling, getting dragged with her before he could even open his mouth. The very front of the stage couldn’t be touched thanks to tall metal barriers making space between the audience and the performers, but they were still close enough to see all the action when the place got crowded. Right now, a Kecleon and a Loudred were on the side of the stage with a DJ deck and other sound mixing equipment, managing a generic dance mashup.

“Huh? That’s not… does Esther come on after these guys?” Lute said, surprised at how loud he had to speak to even hear himself. The beat was making his chest vibrate and ears ring.

“This really is your first gig, Lute! Yeah, these guys are just here to get everybody excited for the main show,” she said. The way she was focused on the front, half climbing the barricade to see everything clearly, he didn’t want to ask anything else to distract her. The same way he felt when dealing with the idea of adventuring, she looked like that right now. Her whole being just gave off an aura that made him happy to look at.

“H-here,” he said, sliding his way beneath her. She squeaked and scrambled a bit which threw him off balance, but he still managed to get her to sit on his back. He had no trouble hopping to the top of the barricade now. “You’re really light, so it’s no problem!”

“L-Lute, wa-wait, don’t do that. What if I… u-um, you know,” she said, looking down at him. He gave her a funny look. “Wha-what if I-I… accident?”

He flinched. “I er- okay, I didn’t think about that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay it’s okay, the show hasn’t started yet and all,” she said, going red. He laughed lightly which encouraged her to laugh too, and then the two relaxed where the were. The other security Pokémon who were patrolling back and forth around the stage, a Machoke and Heatmor, didn’t seem to mind them being there on the barricade. Seeing that, Infia relaxed a little more, slowly and almost slyly sinking herself into Lute’s fur.

“Lute,” she said quietly, expecting not to be heard. He responded with a shift, trying to look up at her. “Can you hear me?”

“Uh huh. Is everything okay?”

She paused. “Th-thank you for inviting me to this. It really means a lot.”

Lute blushed again, light laughter escaping his now nervous form. He froze up, feeling all the heat in his body rush to his face when her paws began to slide around his mane to his front. She was tiredly cuddling him from behind, and he didn’t know what to do besides gawk.

“Attention Pokémon, attention all Pokémon. This is a public announcement about Esther’s performance tonight,” a voice echoed throughout the area, drowning out the current DJ music, which stopped soon after. “We are sorry to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances, Esther’s performance will be delayed. We are unable to determine how long this delay will last. Please stand by for further announcements.”

Lute and Infia sat back and looked around as a wave of disappointment flew across what of the audience had gathered so far. Some Pokémon were throwing outright tantrums on the spot, and a few even let off attacks into the air.

“Aww, she was supposed to be on in about ten minutes. I wonder what happened?” Infia said.

“Hopefully it’s not too much of a delay,” Lute looked around. He caught sight of the two guards being called over to some other barricades with a ‘staff only’ label. “Hey, how about we go find out? We do have backstage passes and all.”

“Aren’t those just for after the show, though?” she said as she got off his back. “We really should just let them work it out and wait for them.”

“If you say so. Hey since we don’t know how long we’ll be waiting, how about I just go grab us a snack? You hold our space,” he said.

She put her paws on her belly. “That could be good. Just something light though, please.”

“Got it. I won’t be long,” he said, jogging off. He had to weave through the crowd that had scattered into groups of complaining Pokémon, but he was back out into clear space soon enough. With a smile on his face, he scanned the left and right in search a market stool or something that could sell him an apple or two. Or seeing as it was the city, the idea of a fancy sweet he’d never seen before crossed his mind. Maybe that would be better.

Then he noticed several of the staff talking by the that same barrier the security were called over to earlier. There was a bigger group of them now, but amongst them was a blue furred Sylveon. A chubby blue furred Sylveon that didn’t look like they wanted to sit still. When they happened to move to reveal their face, that was when he knew.

“Sophitia?” he called. She turned at her name and flinched, eyes widened, mouth agape and all.

“Lute? Why’re you here, get back with Infia!” she cried.

“I was just going to get us something because the show got delayed. But that’s my line, what’re you doing here? I thought you didn’t want to come?”

“I er, erm, let’s just say my badge went off,” she swayed her head. She turned back to the security. “Which is what I’m trying to tell you guys. I’m an agent, you gotta let me through. We gotta get this show going or else, and I’ll be able to help.”

“Wait but I didn’t feel my badge go off,” Lute mumbled as he checked his bag.

“Remember that I’m the leader of our team. They’ll call me first before they call you,” Sophitia gave a smug smile.

Lute froze and looked up at her in concern. “Why are you really here?”

“I just told you.”

“The show just got delayed, there’s no way you’d be here already even if there was a mission. And if there was, why wouldn’t you call me about it?”

The Sylveon sighed and spun back around. “Why are you so dang smart when you don’t have to be, huh? Okay, so I might’ve followed you here, but now this is happening and I’ve got it sorted. Go stay with Infia already.”

“You said you hated this place. Why would you follow me?”

“So that you don’t screw up your date and stuff. Which you’re kinda already doing by leaving her alone and getting in my way.”

“Screw up my da- Sophitia, this isn’t a date, I told you that already. This isn’t some love thing that’s going on between us, it’s just two friends seeing a show together.”

“For goodness sake Lute, that’s literally a date. And since I have to spell it out for you as well, yes, that’s literally what we call _love._ She likes you, Lute. And you’re doing like, nothing to respond to that,” she said.

“Wait, seriously? Did you give up your ticket just so you could say stupid stuff like that?” Lute raised his voice. “Sophitia, it’s not a date. I don’t have feelings for Infia. I don’t care about that stuff.”

“Yes you do! You just don’t realise it you dim-witted little kid. You’re in love, and it’s always up to us to ship you hopeless kids together!”

Lute growled and stomped forward a bit, stopping shouting thanks to her suddenly shocked look. She wasn’t looking at him, but she was still rearing back as if she had just seen a ghost that was about to strike her down. He glanced back, not realising right away that Infia was right there. The Minun was silent and her once clean fur had gone totally pale.

“Wa-wait just forget everything I said it’s not true I didn’t mean any of that I swear! I’m just a rambling old lady—”

“You really did do that, didn’t you? You told him to give me the ticket, didn’t you?” Infia said, her voice flat and emotionless. Lute glared angrily at Sophitia, who gulped and tried to look away.

“Look, I’ve seen how unhappy you are and stuff. I’ve felt it. I wanted to do this to help you, okay? It actually hurts seeing you guys as a ship waiting to happen that’s like, not happening because of this dolt,” she said. “So seriously. You guys can just head back to the show and I’ll take care of this stuff—”

“Sophitia, you’re so stupid!” Infia shrieked at the top of her voice, leaning forward. She had to catch her breath, leaving everyone silent. She shook for a moment and turned to run, immediately tripping and bumping into Silver, who they hadn’t noticed approaching them.

“I knew the two of you might be here, but Infia as well is useful. I never anticipated this could happen, but we have an investigation on our hands. Follow me,” the Goodra said, completely ignorant of their looks.

“Uhh, this is a _really_ bad time, Silver,” Sophitia hung her head.

Silver looked over them all and raised an eyebrow, but that was all. Lute was furious, Sophitia was shuddering from embarrassment, and Infia was shaking, fists closed, fangs gritting and electricity welling up within. But none of it registered to the Goodra at all, resulting in a carefree hand gesture. “This will be your first on-the-spot assignment. Follow me or else.”


	10. Pop Star’s Façade

Backstage wasn’t nearly as extravagant as Lute was expecting. It was quiet, the lighting was dim, and most of the walls looked like a stage play, in that nothing reached the ceiling and was clearly made of unfolded cardboard or something. The red and pink colour stood out at least, but the lack of staff running around brought down his mood a bit.

Not that that mattered - he was already so mad at Sophitia that there was a gap between them. Him and Infia walked on Silver’s left while Sophitia was on the right. They walked in silence for a while until the Goodra stopped them all outside a row of rooms.

“This may come as a surprise, but we very nearly had a murder on our paws,” Silver began, making the trio flinch. “A number of staff got seriously hurt, and one has been transported to hospital. Our investigators said most of the damage was dealt from bites and poisoning.”

“That’s horrible!” Infia said.

“That is… but er, if you’ve already got Pokémon on the case, what do you want us to do? I don’t think I could stomach looking at anything like that,” Sophitia said.

“Find the culprit, of course. We’ve managed to secure the area. None of the unharmed Pokémon are allowed to leave,” Silver folded her arms. “I know. It’s quite violent for your second case. But trust yourselves. Just do what you did when you did when you caught Victoria.”

“That was all Sophitia, though,” Lute frowned.

“And to be honest, I could only do that on a whim because it was for a Pokémon I cared about, you know? I just didn’t want Infia getting arrested. This, I know nothing about anyone involved,” Sophitia said.

“Then find out. You’ve got time,” Silver said. There was a pause. “The victims were all staff. Just Pokémon that handle things like lighting, cleaning and stuff. There doesn’t seem to be a theme or a connection amongst them. On the other hand, the accused is Phoenix, Esther’s personal security.”

“Phoenix?” Lute and Infia said, exchanging a glance.

“Yes. The very same agent we appointed to take care of you,” Silver nodded.

“He was a… Fennekin, right? Can they use poison attacks?” Sophitia said.

“As far as we know, only the move Toxic. Toxic is such a widely useable attack that the poison part has us a bit confuddled. It could be anyone,” Silver said. “I’ve given you clearance to question everyone you find here. If you need me, I’ll be by the manager.”

The trio was quiet even after she disappeared into one of the rooms, until Lute broke the silence with a gulp. “I can’t help but feel like she’s still testing us or something.”

“You and me both. But if she thinks we can figure this out, then we probably can. Let’s do this,” Sophitia said.

“I can’t believe that, though. Phoenix is so quiet. I can’t imagine him hurting Pokémon like this,” Infia face the floor. “He barely ever says or does anything, he just does what he needs to. And he cooks. Why would he try to kill Pokémon?”

“Well, not saying I don’t believe you or anything, but he was a security guard here for goodness knows how long. What I mean is, we don’t know anything about what’s been happening here. There’s obviously some drama or something,” Sophitia said. Infia looked like she was going to tear up, giving her a shivering look. “Ah, I just have to be open minded, okay? Sorry about that.”

“Oh great, now some kids are sneaking back stage and- hey you!” a girl’s voice shouted loud enough for the hallway to shake, making them all jump. Lute and Infia’s eyes widened now, and the latter froze up completely.

Esther was stomping toward them, paws clenched into fists at her sides. This Pikachu was taller than Lute expected, but dressed almost exactly like Infia was right now: a short shirt and a frilly tutu that shimmered with pinks, purples, and glitter. Cute bows adorned one ear and her chest, while pink slippers covered her feet. If it wasn’t for her angry look, something about the real deal’s version of this costume felt more provocative to him than cute, although it was both. She was a beautiful Pikachu, definitely the kind that felt ‘too good’ for him.

“I dunno who you kids are, but please just make this easy for me and get outta here. This just isn’t the time or place to mess about and be fans. I’m not signing anything,” she said, trying to stand over them. There was a hint of moan to her voice, as if she was in pain or something. Either way, he didn’t know how to respond. Infia’s fangirling was closer to the original than he ever could’ve imagined.

“Er, sorry. W-we may be ‘kids’, but we’re um,” Sophitia mumbled as she revealed her badge.

“Oh god. Seriously? They said they were getting detectives, please don’t tell me it’s you guys?” Esther replied, spinning and raising her head. She threw her arms up and groaned. “First Fluffy Cheeks gets arrested for some shit he couldn’t possibly do, now you’re telling me I gotta rely on some snotty little fangirls? This day just can’t get any worse!”

“Hey, I’m a boy!” Lute said.

“Yeah. Next thing you’re gonna tell me, you’re Phoenix Wright. I don’t care what you did, just, go home. In fact, gimme those badges. You obviously stole them,” Esther held a paw forward. “I don’t have time to mess about. Just do this, please?”

“Whoa whoa okay now, hold on. I wanted to be nice, but I ain’t gonna be spoken to like a delinquent,” Sophitia said. “We know about the murders and stuff. We’re your investigators, like it or not. Silver’s orders.”

Esther stepped back and scanned them. “Ohh, right. Now that I look at it, you guys are the ones that found Victoria in that case back in Everend. Wow, I didn’t think the agents would take you on. I dunno if they’re desperate or what. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

“… I would start by asking what happened, but to be honest, you really don’t seem to be in the mood,” Sophitia said slowly.

“Of course I’m not in the mood. I didn’t wanna do this damn show in the first place, then all this shit happens. I can’t go and sightsee, I’ve been alone for hours, and I’m so freaking hungry my body feels like it’s gonna turn inside-out or something, it actually hurts like hell,” Esther rambled as stomped around. She stopped with a grunt and clutched her belly with both paws, stretching like a pang was putting her in agony. “In fact, fuck this. I can’t stand this anymore. I don’t care if they want me to play tonight or what.”

The glittery Pikachu stomped off into one of the rooms with a gold star on it, booting it open so hard the door hit the back wall. Lute and Sophitia watched her, their mouths on the floor.

“Is… that really… Esther?” Infia said quietly.

“They said they locked everyone out, so yeah. It has to be,” Sophitia said.

The three of them immediately nearly tripped on discarded sweet packs and other rubbish. Litter made mountains in her room, and if they weren’t mistaken, the smell of alcohol was present.

“And this is your room?” Infia said, this time aloud.

“Oh yeah, ‘cos I’m a pop star, I’ve gotta be miss perfect. It’s gotta be all clean and frilly and have a million make up products and shit,” Esther rambled as she ravaged through a fridge at the far end of the room. She emerged with a four-pack of cup noodles and slammed them on her desk, ripped off the covers and filled them with water from a cold kettle, then squeezed her cheeks to roast all four of them with electricity. In a flash, the cups were steaming.

No one knew what to say. For Lute, the room blew his expectations out of the water. Despite being a popup room, it had the facilities he only could’ve dreamt of having his own room. Esther had a desk and mirrors lining one side, her own fridge, a cupboard dozens of times her size, and even what looked like a computer attached to one wall. The buttons beside the computer implied that it enabled her to contact the other rooms in the area from here.

But with the crude variety of mess all around, he almost couldn’t see her bed. Nothing was clean, nothing was maintained, and it looked like everything she drank and ate had just been tossed into a pile without a care in the world. A Muk would have trouble making all of this mess.

“Oh, right. I just realised your costume. You’re a real fangirl and stuff,” Esther said, taking out contact lenses from her eyes. Now they looked a lot less glittery. She threw off her pink shirt too, leaving just a white, sleeveless undershirt. “Well, the Purrloin’s outta the bag little Miss Minun. This is the real me. Fluffy Cheeks normally keeps it all tidy for me, but Brayen kept him busy all day.”

Infia didn’t reply. Her face twisted a bit, but she gulped and her breathing could be heard.

“Yeah yeah. I’m a slob, I’m gross, I shouldn’t let the kids hear my foul mouth. Whatever, heard it all before, I really don’t care anymore. Oh but… you guys aren’t hungry too, are ya? I should’ve offered you something, too,”

“Not… really,” Sophitia said, tilting her head.

“Your loss,” Esther said, taking her first cup. She just downed it right in front of them, making them lean back from the slurps and gulps she was making. She didn’t even stop until the first cup was finished, letting out a loud breath. “Oh my god I needed that. Seriously, why do Pokémon hate these things so much? They’re so damn good!”

“_She ate cup noodles by drinking it?_” Lute gasped in his mind.

“Instant food is kinda bad for you and stuff,” Sophitia muttered, going quiet as the Pikachu moved onto the next cup. She started sweating a bit, sneaking an awkward glance at Lute and Infia, who looked just as awkward. “You weren’t kidding about being hungry and stuff, huh?”

“Oh shit, sorry!” she gasped. “Listen, uh, Brayen sorta makes me keep figure and stuff. I haven’t eaten a _thing_ since like, early morning yesterday. I’m literally starving to death, you gotta understand!”

“Wait, why did you go that long without food?” Infia asked.

“I just told you, to keep figure and stuff. Pikachu sorta get a bad rep for being called fat, and I put it on pretty easily. But with all the travelling and interviews and rehearsals I have to do, there’s no other way for me to not put on weight other than to just, not eat,” she said, taking another long gulp. She went right onto the third cup. “Fluffy Cheeks sometimes sneaks me snacks and stuff, though. Drinks too, that’s where you see the fancy stuff over there.”

“_Isn’t she underage for drinking? I don’t mean to be picky but…_” Sophitia thought. She blinked in disbelief. “You’ve mentioned fluffy cheeks a few times. Who or what?”

“Oh, Fluffy Cheeks! Mister Fluffy Cheeks is Mister Fluffy Cheeks. He’s called that ‘cos that’s what he’s got, fluffy cheeks!” she cheered. Lute and Sophitia exchanged blank gazes, making her laugh. “He’s my Fennekin guard, silly! The cutie’s really quiet, but he’s a real sweetheart. He’s always looking out for me, and it makes Brayen pretty jealous.”

“_Finally, we’re getting somewhere,_” Sophitia thought, shaking her head. Now she was smiling. “So it’s obvious you guys are close. I’m not saying he’s the one who did it, but any reason why he would hurt all those Pokémon?”

Esther folded her arms and looked away. “Framing.”

“framing?” Lute said, tilting his head.

“Brayen is my manager in this whole thing. But the way I like Mister Fluffy Cheeks, it makes him really jealous. And I mean _really_ jealous. I think he likes me, even though he’s a Bewear. Size difference is gross, though. I’ve got no interest in a big guy like him.”

“We’ll be meeting him soon for sure,” Sophitia said.

“Whenever we’re all together, he’s always trying to silence Phoenix. And this morning, he gave Phoenix a whole load of chores to do or something, saying I had to stay in my room. He always tries to get rid of Fluffy Cheeks like that, and then gets all sweet with me and stuff when we’re alone. It’s actually pretty creepy,” she said, still looking away. She slowly drank her third cup, looking like she was concentrating. “Normally it’s just petty stuff like talking over Phoenix or trying to hold my hand, but this morning, something felt real off. There was this guy with him who Brayen wouldn’t let me talk to.”

“Someone new?” Sophitia asked.

“Yeah. A Swirlix. I was outside walking around when I wasn’t supposed to, and Brayen got all defensive when he saw me. You know, like I wasn’t supposed to see the Swirlix guy or something,” she went quiet. “Look, I know I’m not supposed to give you guys ideas and stuff, but I’m kinda afraid that Swirlix was from Spirle.”

“What?” Lute whispered. His chest grew heavy in an instant.

“Seriously. You know what a Swirlix looks like, right? That cute cotton candy Pokémon. But this guy was sorta… buff? That kinda look when you know you’re gonna get beaten the shit out of if you bump into him in an alleyway or something. I dunno how, but I got that vibe from him,” she said.

“Infia, what kind of shows does Esther put on?” Sophitia asked.

Infia flinched when all eyes went on her, not realising she was being spoken to. Her face had gone pale, and she was so blank she looked ill. “I er…”

“Why ask her? I’m right here,” Esther said.

“Just trust me on this,” Sophitia said.

“… Esther’s shows are a lot like plays. Even though it’s her performing music, there’s always a theme and a story across it all. Sometimes actors perform with her, but she does all the singing,” Infia played with her paws.

“That creates the possibility that Swirlix is just a good actor,” Sophitia scratched her chin.

“But then why not let me meet him? Everyone else I’ve performed with I’ve gotten to know. That’s even before they’re confirmed to work with us. Plus, tonight was just supposed to be me and Brayen. Why force me to stay in my room without Phoenix?” Esther said, going back to her food. “Even if it ain’t Spirle, it just seems too shady. But my hunch is telling me that where there’s a Spritzee, a Swirlix ain’t far.”

“We need to see Brayen. And this Swirlix. They have to still be around,” Sophitia turned to her allies. Lute nodded unsurely, while Infia was back to her blank state.

“Do you mind if I tag along? I can’t stand another minute in here, and I’m still hungry,” Esther said, downing her last cup. She swiped the lot of them off the desk and into her pile, wiping her mouth. “Dunno if you’re doing it on purpose, but I get the feeling you don’t trust me, either. So I gotta prove myself and all that.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just have to look at things this way, you know? I can’t go having a biased opinion,” Sophitia said as she shuffled through the rubbish piles to get out.

“You were biased for Infia,” Lute said.

“Yeah but- oh shut up.”

Esther directed them down the hallway, keeping behind them and pointing where they needed to go. It wasn’t a long walk, but it did bring their attention to markings on the floor. White outlines of Pokémon were there.

“What’s this?” Lute asked, careful not to step on them.

“Crime scene marks. It just shows where the hurt Pokémon were found. I guess the investigation already happened long before Silver brought us in,” Sophitia scratched her chin with a feeler. She looked up to see a trio of bickering Pokémon emerge from the room they were heading towards, those being Silver, a Bewear, and a Swirlix.

“You can’t leave now. That’s an order from the authorities,” Silver said, having to bounce after them.

“Please mister, reconsider. You remember our bargain, don’t you?” Bewear said, his paws cupped together. His voice was unbelievably friendly and high pitched. “If you would just cooperate with the authorities now, I am sure we can discuss of contracts further.”

“You had your chance and you threw it when you let the Fennekin get away. Any deals we have are off!” Swirlix said, revealing his rough, gritty, and excitable voice. He stopped before Lute and company, snickering to himself. “And you three are? Authorities, too?”

“Yes we are,” Sophitia said.

“Good. Your names?”

“I’m Lute—”

“Yours first!” Sophitia slapped Lute with a feeler.

“Lute?” Swirlix blinked. He seemed surprised for a moment, and then cracked an excited smile. “And that makes you Sophitia. Well now, this is great!”

“And you are? I have quite a few questions for you,” Sophitia became tense.

“No need, no need. I am Spirle High Point Victor, a commander of the same rank as Victoria,” Swirlix said.

It took a moment for what he’d just said to get a reaction out of anyone, but they all flinched back, eyes widened. In Lute’s case, his breathing became erratic and uncertain, and his focus locked onto the Swirlix and nothing else. That cocky smile and loose tongue smelt of confidence, confidence he wasn’t prepared to challenge.

“I knew it, I freaking knew it!” Esther cried, hiding behind Sophitia. “Guys, do you your thing!”

“Wait, you’ve gotta be joking. You’re revealing yourself to us? You’re not really a High Point, are you?” Sophitia said. “You’re just trying to play us!”

“That isn’t something to joke about,” Silver said.

“Are you going to take that risk?” Victor gave her a snarky look. He turned back to Lute, laughing crazily. “Lute! Sophitia. The two of you are all Victoria’s been talking about since that incident. I’ve never seen her so upset before. That everything she had built up had been toppled by a bunch of children.”

“Children. It’s always that we’re children,” Sophitia hissed, shaking herself off. “I don’t think this guy’s lying.”

“Wha? So he really is a—” Lute gasped.

“She wasn’t lying either, you know. You two don’t even look the slightest bit like a threat. In fact, sizing you all up now, I can tell that if you all were to attack me at once, you’d lose! That’s how weak you all look in comparison,” Victor said. His voice turned calm. “So we’ll make this simple. Give me Esther, and I’ll let you all walk out of this.”

“Me? Why me, what do I have to do with anything?” Esther cried. Sophitia stood in front of her.

“Good luck getting to her. I’ve seen enough silly little skits like this to know exactly how they go,” she said.

Victor’s face went back to his crazed smile. “And I’ve seen enough overconfident police die by my fangs thanks to that same attitude.”

“Lute, take him down Swift! Even if he isn’t a High Point, we have the right to arrest,” Sophitia said.

“Wait but he’s—” the Eevee spoke on a shuddered breath.

The fight hadn’t even started, and already he was losing himself to a terrifying foreboding. Perhaps this was some giant bluff and Victor was some petty criminal posing as a Spirle High Point. But in the event that he was, that meant Lute was now staring at a criminal so elusive and powerful that rumours could only hint at his true power.

A little Eevee like him couldn’t even hope to take that kind of Pokémon down. And even worse, at Sophitia’s orders, those same orders that got him smashed into a ditch when fighting the Risen. This was going to be a fight against a renowned criminal, one who wouldn’t hesitate to take his life.

He couldn’t stop those thoughts from crowding his mind. His face descended into panic and petty tears. All he could see was Victor, and everything else was black. All he could hear was his fearful thoughts and the shouting orders of Sophitia. And then, one final thought arose again.

“_I’m an agent of King’s Shield, now. I have to do this._”

If he died here, then he died doing his job. Died proving that he was just a little Eevee that wasn’t as up to this task as he thought he would be. His fear had frozen him stiff, and it took all of his will to break free and move. Even then, his thoughts and focus hadn’t settled. He couldn’t move properly, nor could he think straight, he just knew that he needed to attack.

And attack he did. He followed Sophitia’s orders and flew into a Swift attack. However, he shut his eyes, formed those energy stars below his feet, and then tossed them wildly. He continued to drown everything out, aimlessly throwing attack after attack without looking at all. He was sure he was throwing them where Victor was standing, so one of those attacks had to do something, right?”

“Lute, stop! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Silver screamed at the top of her voice.

Her volume snapped him back to reality, but only with the same pathetic trembling from before. He felt like he wanted to cry, like he’d tried his best and still done wrong enough to upset the grownups. Smoke and dust was everywhere, forcing everyone to take big steps backward to avoid being blinded.

“Your battle dust is blocking him from view. Are you really an agent? How could make a mistake like that?” Esther shouted. He couldn’t reply besides more petty whimpers.

Sophitia was shaken by his complete change of character, but not so much that she wasn’t paying attention. Her body tingled hard when she felt the charge of another attack going off, and she dove in the way of Lute. Surely enough, Victor came charging like a rocket, smashing headfirst into her magic shield that formed on the end of her feeler.

The Sylveon was pushed back so hard that she felt her legs buckle instantly, and she let herself fall back, focusing on keeping her shield in front of her body. Before she could regain any kind of control, she caught a glimpse of Victor’s fangs raising far above her head, and shoved her shield into his maw to try and bash him away.

Not only did her attack not do anything, but he didn’t refrain from locking his jaw onto that shield. For a brief moment, she caught him snickering at her, and then he planted his feet and swerved. Sophitia gasped as she was brought into the air, her entire weight getting lifted and flung around in a circle by just the grip of his mouth. With two complete spins, he threw her directly into Silver, and the two went rolling into the wall behind them.

“And now,” Victor laughed to himself. He locked eyes with a panicking Esther.

“No you freaking don’t, leave me outta this!” she cried. He ignored her of course, tackling her to the floor in a flash. She was next to roll painfully into the wall behind her, but he chased her body, locking his jaw around one foot. With that as his grip, he took off with far leaps across the ground, carrying the screaming Pikachu out of sight.

“Wa-wait, Victor! That’s my star you’re making off with, wait for me!” Brayen cried, flailing his paws about as he gave chase.

“Don’t just stand there, don’t let him get away!” Silver roared as she scrambled to her feet. Sophitia was just as desperate, but tripped on her way up, unable to stand as quickly as Silver. The Goodra didn’t wait for her allies, she took off after them with a fury that could scare a fairy.

“Lute, c’mon! Get up, we gotta go after them,” Sophitia shouted as well.

Lute shook his head. “I-I know but, what can I do?”

“Don’t think about it. Just get your head in the game and let’s go,” she said. She scooped up a whimpering Infia and placed her on Lute’s back, and then ran off after Silver.

“Wa-wait, Sophitia,” Lute stuck a paw out. Infia was no better than he was, and stuffed her face into his mane. “I-I can’t, I mustn’t… Oh, why am I doing this?”

He stopped thinking. He was sure he was still scared of Victor, but now he was more afraid of seeing Sophitia get hurt like that again. The Sylveon wasn’t as fast as Silver, and was clearly limping in her light gait – that one attack hit her harder than he probably realised.

“Sophitia, you’re hurt!” Lute cried. She wouldn’t be able to hear him over the outside world, though. The crowds of Pokémon had made a path for the running Pokémon, but they were all screaming and crying out. As Lute left the stage area as well, he caught sight of severely damaged guards, the Heatmor and Machoke he saw earlier. They were face flat on the ground covered in burns.

“He’s so fast,” Lute whispered. He was surprised that he was struggling to catch up to Sophitia, but he still couldn’t help but slow down as he realised where they were headed. The Waterworks he’d been informed of. The closer this chase brought him to it, the quieter the area became. No Pokémon were around here, just the industrial buildings lined with giant pipes on the outside.

He didn’t get a chance to look around properly. Sophitia bolted right into one of the structures that looked like it had been blown open. Inside was almost pitch black, but Lute followed anyway.

“Sophitia!” Lute shouted, skidding to a stop. There was a ledge with a tall handrail and lots of thick iron pipes around. Silver was pinning down Brayen, while Sophitia had slowed down to scout the area, it looked like. “S-Sophitia, we can’t—”

“Oh shush already. We chased ‘em in here, but they’re hiding from us. Help me find them,” she said.

Lute didn’t know how to reply. He shuddered hard, and then looked around again. The Bewear under Silver’s grip was shouting and crying incessantly, so she soon shut him up with a hard punch to the back of his head. His head recoiled onto the floor harder than the punch, and then he fell limp.

“Finally. Now, Esther! Make a sound. We know you’re in here, Victor!” Silver shouted.

The noise they were looking for was made, and their attention was brought to a high ledge on the right. Lute could just about see them, Esther still locked in Victor’s mouth. It looked like her mouth had been stuffed with something however, white balls that muffled her voice.

“How do you get up there?” Lute asked. Sophitia scooped him up suddenly, making him and Infia squeal.

“Like this!” Sophitia said, leaping over the ledge with them.

“S-Sophitia, what’re you doing?” Lute cried.

They landed on giant pipes that went below their initial ledge, but soon after, Lute realised what she was getting at. The formation of the pipes along the wall were so big, flat, and shapely that they could actually be climbed by a Pokémon that could jump her height. And so she did, taking a run up to make her way over.

“Bad move,” Victor said cockily.

Sophitia ignored him until she realised he was charging a special attack, a Moonblast. She hung from one of the giant screws used to hold the pipes in place. From here, all she had to do was kick off the pipe to hang from a pipe on the right wall, then she could climb it and reach the ledge with Victor. She just needed to stop his attack.

“Lute, try Swift again,” she said.

“B-but I can’t hurt him! I’m not strong enough,” he squeezed himself into her back. Infia was no better.

“It doesn’t matter, just do it!” she raised her voice

“Too late, kiddies!” Victor sung, hopping off the ground to fire his attack. The trio cringed and braced for the worst, only to have smoke briefly cover them instead.

“He missed?” Sophitia said, glancing up at the impact. The sound of a heavy gush of water said otherwise.

“What’s?” Lute whispered, only to cry out as a huge torrent of water fell right on top of them.

“Lute, Sophitia!” Silver cried, sticking a hand out. She couldn’t have saved them even if she wanted to however. The water that hit them swallowed them immediately, and then they vanished into the dark depths below. She snarled and glared at the laughing Victor, and fury filled her eyes again. “You villain! They were just teenagers!”

“C’mon, who doesn’t want to drown a teenager? They’re the villains out here. You won’t ever hear such high levels of disrespect from anyone _but_ teens,” Victor said.

Silver’s growl got more violent. She whipped her head around, bringing up a Sludge bomb to her mouth, but Victor shifted so that Esther shielded him, and she had to spit her attack elsewhere.

“There’s a good girl, now. You wouldn’t want to hit my hostage. Now be a good little girl and just clean up the mess, will ya?” Victor laughed comically. Silver snarled at him again, but hesitated on acting with trembling rage. Seeing she had nothing else to try, Victor leapt off deeper into the pipe works, leaving only his laughs to echo down the room.


	11. MOAND DIA

The last thing Lute remembered was a torrent of chilling water crushing him and sending him deep into the trenches of Aseria’s waterways. He was down there for so long that he had lost consciousness despite his efforts to look for air. He was forced along the current in this metal pathway for what felt like hours, so the last thing he expected was to actually wake up somewhere.

His body felt like he expected it to, at least. He was freezing and his fur was damp all over. He could only open his eyes to a view of hazy light, while he felt like if he tried to stand, his bones might melt. He sniffled and coughed, managing a groan as horrible aches in his back took presence.

“Oh man,” he grumbled as he rolled onto his back. That allowed him to settle and relax, taking a long while to get used to his pain and focus his sight. Sophitia came into view, though she was unconscious.

Then he realised, and rolled back over. He forced himself to his feet, unable to keep in a cry of pain. He had no strength for this. “Sophitia. Sophitia! Oh gods, please.”

Before he even touched the Sylveon, she started to tremble and groan. She echoed his movements, waking up with gritted fangs. Giving her space, Lute found Infia a moment later, who was just as weak but awakening.

“Oh thank goodness, you’re both alive!” Lute said. Infia sat there weakly breathing aloud, while Sophitia kept growling in attempt to stand up. She staggered a little, but she was standing after a moment. “U-uh, sh-shouldn’t you?”

“Was… gonna argue that we’re probably dead, but… I don’t think I’d feel this awful if I wasn’t alive,” she said.

“Thank goodness. You’re still you, too.”

“I’d save the relief if I were you. Where the heck are we?”

Lute had to blink a few times to get used to the light. They were resting on sandy rock, while caving mountain surrounded them on all but one side. The sunlight beaming down on the surroundings was enough to make the unshaded floor blinding, so he had to shield his face as he walked over to get a better look.

“I think we washed up on some beach somewhere,” he said, soon coming to a complete halt. “Okay. No. We didn’t.”

He had never seen anything like it. A golden sky with huge, sandy clouds flowing in an unnaturally fast wind. An apple coloured river rushed beside him, which roared down the cliff he was stood on as an enormous waterfall. Along this coast led to huge plains that stretched as far as his eyes could see. Stars were visible along the distance as well, as if they had fallen into an area on the border of a magical outer space. Everything had an enchantingly coloured hue, and their altitude was enough to bring a nasty chill across him.

“What is this place?” he whispered. His intrigue brought Sophitia over, but she only copied him.

“Wait you mean you’ve never seen this? Who would’ve thought Aseria had something like this?” she spun around to get a good look at it all. The moon could be spotted amongst the clouds behind them, as well as a mountain that didn’t seem to have a peak. Looking up that high, Lute had to cover his eyes from light and the wind ruffling him. At least the area smelt like seawater, or maybe that was Sophitia.

“Ah man, Mum’s probably going to kill me,” Lute said.

“I think a bigger worry is actually getting somewhere. I dunno about you, but if I don’t eat soon, I’m gonna keel over,” she said as her stomach rumbled. She looked back at Infia, who couldn’t seem to stand up at all. “Whoa er, we better do something about that, too.”

“Infia, are you okay?” Lute rushed to her side. She gave up the moment he got near, leaning on him.

“I can’t move,” she said so weakly it was a wonder she was even still awake. Lute moaned and then helped her onto his back, where she sunk into his mane.

“We need to find something or someone. Wherever we are, hopefully they can help,” he said as he led the way. He headed for the plain, annoyed about the amount of sand getting into his fur as he dragged his feet.

“Good thing I can’t see any enemies. If we got into a fight now, I don’t know how it’d go,” Sophitia said. “This is the only time you’ll ever hear me say something like that.”

“Didn’t you say the Spirle High Point was really strong, too?” Lute said. He took notice of the flickering particles of light in the air. Little orbs of light made it look like he was walking amongst the stars, though they weren’t obstructive in any way.

“Why do you always remember this stuff?” she groaned. “Well, I can’t lie. Victor felt way out of my league, too.”

It took a few seconds for Lute to realise what that meant. “Wait, if he was too strong for you, why did you chase him?”

“I’m not going to back down from a criminal, especially one that’s kidnapping someone right in front of my face. It’s literally my job to take them down. I _had_ to fight him, and I _had_ to win somehow. But I failed,” she said. “We’re gonna need you to be stronger, too. Can’t have you giving up that easily.”

“Wha-what? I don’t get that, no!” he cried. “Sophitia, he could’ve killed us. If I couldn’t touch the Risen, what chance do I stand against Victor? He could’ve killed you.”

“He couldn’t have killed me,” she said. “I wouldn’t let myself die that easily.”

“Sophitia, we’re talking about a Spirle High Point here!”

“You don’t get it, Lute. It doesn’t matter who I have to fight. If they’re a criminal, then I’m gonna fight them and stop them from doing wrong, no matter who they are,” she said. “You need to get stronger, right? Well you’re not gonna do it by saying ‘this guy’s a big bad Pokémon, I stand no chance’. You’ve gotta try, and think outside the box. Just, do stuff, you know?”

Lute groaned, feeling guilty. He knew she was right, yet he couldn’t let go of the fear of one of them getting hurt. If he ended up with broken body parts or Sophitia had been the one kidnapped, he couldn’t forgive himself. Or even worse, if Infia had suffered…

He didn’t want to think of that possibility. He wanted to be a hero, but he also wanted to stay out of that kind of trouble. He just wanted to help Pokémon. He shook his head and focused with that thought, finally spotting something of note in the middle of this desert-like plain. A short, circular platform made of metal smack bang in the middle of this nothing.

As they neared it, a ball of light was descending toward it, making the trio think twice about approaching. They kept clear as the light ball landed on the platform, where it flashed and shrunk into the figures of four Pokémon. All four species were wearing similar clothing to one another however, a fur-tight suit with a black and white theme to it. Black for their visors and markings on their chests and knees, while white was the rest. All of them were carrying oxygen tanks on their backs.

“Gardevoir. And Blaziken. I can’t tell the others. What’s with the getup?” Sophitia said quietly. The suited Pokémon made space on the platform, then gestured for Lute and company to join them. “I don’t know about this, but we don’t really have much choice.”

Lute cringed as Infia’s grip on him tightened, and she whined a bit. “It’s okay, Infia. We’re going to be okay.”

But he wasn’t sure about that one. He still followed Sophitia and stood on the platform beside them, and soon they were whisked away in the same light that the Pokémon arrived from. They ended up travelling faster than he expected, though the whole experience reminded him of travelling with the Deposit Box, spiralling colours and white light at their destination and all.

When he passed through the light at the end of that tunnel, he was suspended in the air above another metal platform. It took him by surprise and he tripped, though Infia helped him to stay standing.

“Good gods!” a familiar voice gasped. Lute growled as he looked up and then gasped himself. Silver was there, and had slid back so hard she nearly fell backwards. “You three! Y-you’re alive, you’re here!”

“Silver!” Sophitia stepped forward. Silver shook herself and then practically lunged for them, leaning forward to put her hands on them.

“Oh my goodness! Are the three of you alright?” she shouted.

“Ah hey, ye-yeah. We’re okay… save for nearly fainting from hunger,” Sophitia said. Silver blinked in what could only be described as utter disbelief. Her mouth was agape and slime drooled from her like sweat, made worse by her trembling. Sophitia stared back in fear, but behind her was only the suited Pokémon removing their clothing. “Is… everything okay?”

“Ye-yes! Of course, yes,” Silver said, standing tall. She looked around quickly. “Get these Pokémon some food! And towels, quickly!”

…

“That’s really everything? You just wandered for a while, absolutely nothing else happened?” Silver said. It turned out that the magical transportation had taken them back to the agent base in Densan City, although they ended up in a room they hadn’t seen before. While Lassic wasn’t present, plenty of other agents and authorities were, and they had no trouble helping Lute out.

Soon enough, Lute, Sophitia, and Infia were stuffing their faces while they ‘reported’ on their story of their investigation. It was during that conversation that Lute had fully recalled what he didn’t want to recall, the feelings he’d felt when confronted with Victor. It was the only time he’d gone quiet during the report, but thankfully, Silver’s surprise and interest took more attention.

“I just can’t believe you ended up down there. You three have no idea just how exceedingly lucky you are to still be alive,” she said.

“I guess surviving for hours underwater without an air source isn’t lucky enough?” Sophitia rolled her eyes. “What’s got you so worked up, anyway?”

There was a pause, and Silver shut her eyes. “You’re right. But I’m talking on two accounts here. Not only is it a miracle you didn’t drown to death, but that place you were in… should’ve killed you…”

“There wasn’t anything there, though. And we’re not dumb enough to run off a cliff,” Sophitia tilted her head.

Silver cleared her throat. “This might seem difficult to swallow at first, but what I’m about to tell you is classified information. Don’t repeat it outside of here.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Deep inside of the planet… we really don’t understand how it works, but inside of Aseria is what we believe is an entirely different world.”

“A different world?” Infia said.

“It is called Moand Dia. It was discovered after we learnt how to transport using the Deposit Boxes. Even after we manufactured the boxes ourselves, it turned out there was one in an unknown location. But anyone who went there immediately evaporated,” Silver said.

“Evaporated?” Sophitia said, leaning back.

“So there was a Deposit Box in a place we never knew existed, even though we believed we were the ones to make boxes. And the world this box was in turned out to not only be deep inside our planet, but in a place where the atmosphere of V-Waves is so condensed that no living Pokémon can withstand it. Our bodies are just torn to shreds,” Silver said.

“That would explain why when the agents came to get us, they were in those weird suits,” Sophitia said. Silver nodded.

“We’ve developed suits that reject V-Waves, but of course, wearing something like that prevents you from using any attacks or abilities. We’ve been unable to explore Moand Dia any further than simple on foot travel,” she said. “But you three, you were unconscious there and woke up with no issues whatsoever. You were completely unaffected by that world’s atmosphere.”

“It looked really amazing, too. I never would’ve guessed that it was a whole other world,” Lute said, his eyes gleaming. “If we weren’t hurt, I’d love to explore it.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to rescue Esther first, don’t we?” Sophitia, gave him a tap with a feeler.

“The three of you have been through far more than enough for now. If I had known that a High Point was involved, I never would’ve brought you into that investigation. I’ll be honest, that was only supposed to be another test of your abilities. It was never supposed to get this dramatic,” Silver stood up. “Please. I’ll have agents escort you home. The three of you can take it easy for a while.”

“It was just a test. Did we fail?” Infia said, speaking so softly it was hard to hear her. Silver froze.

“Forget about that. I put you all in unnecessary harm’s way. It’s a blessing that you’re all alive,” she said. “If you’re all okay now, we should send you back to Everend. And when you’re there, relax. Don’t worry about Esther or the High Points. We’ve got it handled.”

“Are you sure?” Sophitia said.

“Yes, I’m sure. Think of yourselves, Marina must be worried sick,” she said, shaking her hands. Lute’s eyes widened.

“Worried sick is an understatement! We’ll never hear the end of it,” Lute gasped. Sophitia looked just as afraid, and stood up. One of the agents from earlier, the Blaziken, approached them.

“He’ll make sure you all get home safe. I had them write a note for Marina as well. Make sure she gets that, and she should ease up,” Silver said.

There wasn’t anything else after that, the Blaziken led them out through familiar paths. Sophitia was quiet while Infia scrunched herself up, keeping close to Lute. The Eevee however, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to that other world.

“Moand Dia,” he whispered to himself. The mystical colours and star-filled scenery was still fresh in his memory, and his imagination thought up all possible secrets the world held. Now that he was warm and full of food, all he wanted to do was look all around the place.

Once they were out of the room, Silver let out a sigh as if she’d been holding her breath. A moment of tensing up and then she bolted to one of the computers, shoving aside the Pokémon currently working on it.

“I’m sorry, I have to use this!” she shouted, her tone matching her frantic movements. She scrolled through files and data without a care in the world, getting her slime all over the touch screen. She reached a database for the Pokémon that had been in contact with the authorities, where she found Marina’s name. “Found you. And to check what your lineage is really hiding.”

The screen told her everything. Marina Aska, a former scientist under the service of the agents that headed an entire research and development facility at the Ministry of Science. According to the file, she had four deceased children and a husband, but Silver knew that part all too well.

Then it hit her. In this file’s current state, there was no mention of Lute whatsoever.

Silver scrolled through it restlessly, ignoring all the curious and annoyed eyes around her. She checked files and reports, finding only things she already knew about the Vaporeon. She checked each one thoroughly like she was living on borrowed time, all until she got to one last report. A single file labelled “RETIREMENT”.

She tapped it of course. But unlike every other file on the system, a prompt for a password came up, refusing to let her read it. Silver flinched, finally slowing down to steady her thoughts. This was the most mysterious thing she had come across since learning about Moand Dia.

“A single report locked behind your own personal password, here of all places. The agents have access to every single piece of data, history, and current status of every single Aserian resident that we have ever been involved with, except this. Why would you lock this?” she mumbled to herself, hovering over the keyboard. She hesitantly began to type one key at a time. “If I had to make the biggest gamble… E, V, O, L, I.”

The file opened, and she leaned forward with obsession. She skimmed only a few lines and her mouth fell to the floor. “So that’s why. That’s what Lute is.”

…

Lute and company used the Deposit Box so they got back in no time at all. Still, it was sunset around that time, so everything was leisurely and quiet. With everything calm before the inevitable storm that was Marina freaking out, the trio had time to calm down and chat.

Well, Lute and Sophitia chatted. Infia was silent with her thoughts the whole time, still walking on the opposite side of Sophitia. She hadn’t forgiven the Sylveon’s intrusion into her affairs with Lute, but right now, she was relieved enough to be back in familiar territory. It made her think that she might be being harsh, that maybe she was wrong. She was ready to give Sophitia a good chance. Lute liked her, after all.

But then she was dropped off at home, and reality came rushing right back. The Eeveelutions gave her positive waves of goodbye, but Infia could see right through it. Sophitia was forcing herself to smile and wave, looking like she was ready to indulge in an interview about everything Infia didn’t want to talk about right now.

This was the first time Sophitia had seen her home, after all. Infia had almost slammed the door on them in order to escape. The home was a complete standout from every other house in Everend. It was a mansion, a fancy building with an entryway, over a dozen rooms, painted inside and out and supported by columns and all. Victoria had supposedly lived here for years after hitting the big time on an old fashion breakthrough.

But now, it was considered the hideout of a terrorist. It was vacant besides this little Minun and the Fennekin that was supposed to look after her. She called out politely and had to search for said Fennekin, not surprised to find a note from him on her bedroom table.

“Again?” Infia whispered, tiredly skimming the note. It was the usual, a neatly written and detailed letter about how he was off doing high ranked agent work and wouldn’t make it home for an unpredictable length of time. He’d left her instructions on what food was left and how to cook it if she wanted, and while she had no problem with that, it wouldn’t solve the feelings overwhelming her right now.

She sat back in her chair at her desk, which faced a mirror. Looking back at her was a droopy Minun that looked like it had slept through a storm. She sat there blankly, hating how she looked in that mirror. Her body didn’t have a single good feature. Not with clothes on, and even as she carelessly threw them off, not one underneath, either. The used nappy under it all only made her shiver with frustration.

For the first time ever, she punched her mirror. She punched it once, whimpered, then smashed it with both paws, causing it to shatter. The shards ripped through her, drawing blood. But it was distracting, only. A few cuts on her paws wasn’t anything like what she was feeling in her chest.

She slid against the broken mirror, almost intentionally trying to dig the shards into herself as she leaned on her desk. It hurt so much. It forced her to worry about the cuts rather than what she had just experienced. What she had been experiencing.

But the thoughts wouldn’t leave her this time. The way Sophitia tried to just, control her life. Victoria’s secrets and the way she suddenly stopped treating her like a parent. The cold hearts of the agents. And then just when everything felt like it might be hopeful with Esther’s show, it was the work of Sophitia again. Esther’s true nature felt like a nightmare she didn’t want to believe happened, not helping the issue at all.

She drew blood, cringing, but it wouldn’t help. The foul-mouthed Pikachu and her slobby room were engraved in her memories. The only Pokémon she ever looked up to was that despicable adult that Infia aspired to never end up becoming. No matter how much pain she gave herself, there was no hope.

She didn’t want to be an Agent of King’s Shield. She didn’t want to hang out with Lute and Sophitia for the pain they brought her. But most of all, she didn’t want to be alive.


	12. Infia's Big Play

** ** ** **

** **Author's note: this chapter is at about double the length of all chapters prior. Please allow yourself plenty of time if you intend to read the chapter in one sitting.** **

...

“Something’s not right this morning. I’m telling you, I can feel it, something’s going terribly wrong,” Sophitia said. Her head was in her feelers and she was walking faster than usual, bumping into Pokémon in the school hallways.

“What’s with her?” Cinder asked, leaning in to whisper. He, Raiju, and Lute weren’t far behind.

“I don’t know. She’s been saying stuff like that all morning,” Lute said.

“Oooh, were you two up to some naughties?” Raiju said, half-lidded. Sophitia suddenly flew across the hallway and slapped him down.

“Don’t say something so dumb. I would never!” she cried. “I’ve told you before that I can sense Pokémon’s emotions, right?”

“You can do that?” Lute gasped. Cinder looked surprised, too.

“It’s how I was able to tell Infia was hiding something. To tell the truth, Infia’s the only Pokémon whose emotions I’ve been able to sense so far. I’m guessing it has something to do with how strong they are,” she said, rubbing her chin. “After that incident, the feeling stopped. But last night and this morning, the feeling’s back, and it’s more uncomfortable than ever.”

“You’re probably just feeling something else. You ate a lot yesterday, maybe it’s indigestion?” Lute said.

“Indigest- I think I’d be able to tell the difference between that. If anything, I’m still hungry.”

“Of course you are,” Cinder rolled his eyes.

“Wait, seriously? You had like seven stacks of pancakes this morning. And all of them had sauce!” Lute cried.

“Wow. Keep eating like that, and you’ll turn into a marshmallow,” Raiju giggled.

“You’re gonna drop fat jokes here and I’m gonna say I don’t care. What matters is my emotion sensors are outta control right now. I think something really bad’s gonna happen to Infia,” she looked away. The school jingle went off, signalling everyone to head to their classrooms.

“Urf, I really feel like you’re overthinking. Infia’s probably fine. We walked her home yesterday,” Lute said, walking past her to take his place in the classroom. Sophitia moaned but joined him, constantly looking out at the students as they piled into the room.

But then the rollcall started, and it became clear to her. Infia didn’t come into the room at all. That foreboding wasn’t mere foreboding, it was actually something that was coming true.

Sophitia had been woken up by the horrible tingle in her feelers. It felt the same way as when she initially sensed Infia’s discomfort, only this time, it was miles worse. The fact that she felt it when the Minun wasn’t anywhere near her told of just how powerful those feelings were.

It felt like a dark storm cloud had been smothering her all morning. She was cold, shivering, and had no idea of when this storm would end. The clouds brewed a gloomy feeling within her, but she wouldn’t give in to it. Not as long as she knew that this gloom belonged to someone else.

That said, it was too much. It was too much to sit here and concentrate on trivial schoolwork while Infia was out there feeling far worse than she could’ve imagined. The fear that whatever was wrong with the Minun, by the time school was over it’d probably be too late. All it took was that thought for her to bolt to her feet and squeal out loud.

“No, I can’t!” she shouted, silencing Anbi. The Umbreon gawked at her. “Sorry sir, but I need to go! Like, right now.”

“Sophitia?” Lute said.

“And you’re coming with!”

“Wait, what? Why—” he said, getting choked as she yanked him out of the room. Anbi put a paw out to stop them, while Raiju and Cinder came charging, stopping them in the hallway.

“Whoa whoa hey now, what in the world do you think you’re doing?” Cinder hissed, flaring up his mane. “You can’t just up and walk out of class like that. Get back in there.”

“Yeah, if you leave now, Anbi’s gonna kill you,” Raiju said. Sophitia growled and shoved them both aside, stomping her way through.

“This is more important. I know what I’m feeling and when my feelings are right, I’m right. Look, ah, I can’t explain it,” she said, starting to leap. Lute and trio exchanged glances, jogging to catch up.

“Can’t we talk about this properly?” Lute said.

“This isn’t supposed to be talked about, this is an emergency, I know it! Think, why would Infia just not show up? She was totally fine physically, and—” she said, freezing upon exiting the building. The school gate was locked. “Lute, is there a Deposit Box in here?”

“A Deposit Box? Why would- wait, you can’t, not in front of Raiju and Cinder,” Lute said.

“It’s an _emergency_, Lute. Is or isn’t there a box here?”

The Eevee went quiet, prompting Cinder to speak up again. “Lute, c’mon. Help us talk some sense into her.”

But he stayed quiet and stared at her with a straight face. She didn’t waver from her serious look at all, so he sighed aloud. “You really are convinced? Something’s wrong with Infia?”

“Let’s at least go to her house and see what’s happened. Please.”

“Alright,” he said with a gulp. Raiju and Cinder exchanged gawks.

“You realise what you’re saying, right? Anbi’s gonna have like, the angriest meeting with our parents if you really go through with this. What’s gotten into you, how can you be on board with aimlessly stepping out of school like this?” Cinder said.

“It’s not aimless. It’s Sophitia,” he said. The both frowned at him. “I know better than anyone how much trouble we’re going to get in. But Sophitia’s shown strange powers numerous times now. If she says she can feel something bad with Infia, and there’s a chance that she’s right, then I don’t really want to risk it. You two should go back.”

He ignored their jaw-dropped faces and led the way around the school walls, where a Deposit Box was hidden in the shade right by the wall. As soon as she saw it, Sophitia hovered toward it.

“I thought you said Everend only had one of these?”

“It’s super close to the other one, so I count it as one. And students sort of aren’t supposed to use this one. It’s to store tools for outside classes,” he said, using his badge on it. Raiju and Cinder rambled questions but fell to shock when they saw his badge and its effect. Lute and Sophitia ignored them, jumping into the portal.

“I-I-I’m not seeing things, am I? That was an Agents of King’s Shield badge?” Raiju said, jaw-dropped. Cinder shook himself off and approached the portal.

“So that’s why they’ve all been acting so strange, missing classes and stuff. And they never even had the chance to stop and talk to me about it,” he shut his eyes.

“Cinder?”

“Without me even realising it… the moment Sophitia showed up, little Lute started growing up. C’mon, or we’ll get left behind,” he said as he made space to run and jump.

“Ah-aaahhh you as well? I thought I was going Spinda, but you as well?” Raiju said. He whined as he watched Cinder disappear into the light. “We’re gonna get in so much trouble for this!”

They both fell out of the portal onto their faces, not expecting to be thrown into the air on the other side. Lute and Sophitia weren’t waiting for them either, so they called out and caught up.

The group was silent, besides Raiju’s continued questioning and interest. No one answered him however, leading to an awkward trip until Infia’s residence came into sight. Lute slowed down a bit, impressed with how fancy the house was. He had rarely been this close, and even though he’d seen it last night, this was his first time actually being there with the time and freedom to look around. The colours and finesse were better than he imagined from memory.

“Lute, why does Infia live in a house like this?” Sophitia said.

“Huh? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Kinda? It’s nothing like the other houses in Everend, so I thought Pokémon would get a bit antsy and stuff with it,” she mumbled a bit. “I guess this house belonged to Victoria, and she’s sorta snobby, so.”

“How’re you feeling, though? Can you still feel Infia?” Cinder asked.

“Of course I can. In fact, it’s grown stronger since we got here,” she said as she approached the door. She gave it two hard knocks with a paw and stood back, letting silence fall. There was no response, even after a minute.

“Guess nobody’s home,” Raiju smiled.

“No no, she’s in there. I know she is,” Sophitia knocked again. “It’s a big house, maybe she just takes a while to answer.”

“Shouldn’t the four of you be at school?” a deep voice said aloud, making them all flinch. They slowly turned away to see a Fennekin watching them from beyond the columns holding up the balcony.

“That guy,” Lute whispered. “Wait, you’re Mister Phoenix, right?”

“Oh right, the agent that was meant to look after her- you know where Infia is, don’t you?” Sophitia said. Phoenix blinked at her. “She didn’t come into school today. A-and I wasn’t feeling all that right either, so we came to see how she was and stuff…”

Phoenix barely moved as she trailed off, and his cold glare tore apart her confidence. Something about him felt overpowering, like his mere presence exuded authority that she daren’t challenge. She gulped, half expecting him to suddenly bark so loud her ear drums would break. But he didn’t, and instead marched up to the door to unlock it with an old, shapely key.

He didn’t say anything, but him walking in and holding the door open was all they needed. Sophitia gulped again and warily strolled in, stunned by the opening hallway. Lute’s house was better than she ever anticipated a Pokémon home to look like, but this blew it all out of the water.

All the floors were carpeted and softer than a Swirlix. Fancy paintings and sculptures decorated the rooms and hallways, all neatly placed and free of dust. It was warm, well lit, and so homely that she felt shameful just being a part of it. If she knew she was going to a house like this, she’d have ensured she washed properly in the morning.

But more importantly, those horrible vibes hit her like a truck. She sucked in a breath and shivered, facing the floor as negativity trampled her from all directions. All she did was step in, yet something here was destroying her.

“Her room is upstairs and the first right,” Phoenix said. His voice was deep and static, almost robotic.

“Thanks,” Lute said. “We’ll just see if she’s there or not. If everything’s okay, then we’ll head back to school. That’s all.”

“You sound so calm about it, like we’re not gonna have to deal with Anbi,” Raiju said, sweating.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, but still,” Lute said as he knocked on her door. “U-uh, hi Infia! It’s us, Lute and the others.”

There was no response. “U-uh er, we’re coming in.”

Everyone entered the same way, nervous at first and then quick once they realised that she wasn’t there. Everything looked orderly besides a broken mirror above her desk, the shards of which covered the surface. Lute and Sophitia shuddered as they slithered toward it, where they found a note. Lute hesitantly picked it up, reading in his head.

“I dunno why I’m surprised, but Infia’s room is really girly. Everything’s so pink and fluffy. She’s got lots of Pikachu plushies!” Raiju giggled.

“It’s merch from that pop star, Esther. Look at all this stuff. Lucky her, she has the room for posters and books, and is that a stack of magazines? It’s like she’s got every single issue or something,” Cinder said, gawking at it all.

“Wait really? We don’t even sell mags in Everend! How?” Raiju gasped.

While they rambled in awe at Infia’s dedicated collections, Sophitia started her own investigation of sorts. The negative vibes had vanished, so she could focus her thoughts now. She tried to look away from the obvious at first, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary besides that note and the broken mirror. She slid a feeler between some shards to brush them aside, trying not to drop them on the floor. The desk was marked with red splotches.

“B-blood?” she said. Cinder and Raiju stepped over. “It’s dry, too. This looks like it happened last night.”

“But nothing else in the room is damaged. So then, what?” Cinder said. “Lute, what does the note say?”

All eyes turned to the Eevee, but he didn’t reply. He sounded like he was mumbling something in terror, and his face was turning pale.

“Lute?” Sophitia said louder. He still didn’t respond, so she snatched the note from him and read aloud. “By the time you are reading this, I will be long gone. If there is a soul that cares enough after finding this note, you will find my remains at the Radial Castle east of Everend.”

“My remains?” Cinder said, exchanging a shocked glance with Raiju.

“I have decided that I hate this world and the Pokémon in it. Attempting to live for the sake of others has shown me that there isn’t a single Pokémon worth living for, and none care for my being enough for me to stay here. And so, I relinquish all of my belongings to Lute, and I will leave the world for good,” She said, freezing. She slowly put the note down, meeting everyone’s speechless faces. “Wha-what the hell?”

“But why? Didn’t you say you took her home last night? How did—” Cinder staggered. “Tha-that blood on the desk, don’t tell me that’s hers?”

“Did something happen last night? This is serious!” Raiju said.

“I can’t,” Lute said on a shuddering breath. It looked like tears were already forming in his eyes.

“Lute?”

“I just- I can’t… why did she…” he muttered, blinking a lot as well. “… She’s really gone?”

“No! Don’t say that you idiot, she’s not gone!” Sophitia shouted, looking back and forth. “She had to have written this in the morning. That means she’s still here, she’s gone to that Radial Castle place instead of going to school. It’s still early, we can catch her!”

“You’re right, she can’t have gotten far. P-plus, the Radial Castle is… I don’t think she can get there easily on her own,” Cinder said. “You guys, we need to go. Like, now!”

“You really mean it? She’s not… dead yet? We can save her?” Lute said quietly. His voice had no strength to it at all, leading no one to be able to answer. They all exchanged shaky breaths and glances awkwardly, until Raiju started growling, and he released a Thundershock in the space between them.

“Yes. We. Can! But not if we keep letting surprise get the better of us. Like Cinder said, we gotta go right now right this very minute,” he shouted, and then bolted out. Cinder growled and followed him, though the others couldn’t keep up with him. The dashed after him, leaving Infia’s door wide open. Phoenix was still at the bottom of the stairs, appearing unbothered by Raiju’s anxious sprint past him.

“Phoenix! Why didn’t you stop her?” Sophitia screamed.

“Stop her?” he replied.

“Infia! She left this note and she’s gone off to kill herself. How don’t you know about this?”

“I was on an objective last night. This is actually my first time home since a few days ago,” he said, taking the note from her to skim read it. He didn’t react. “Go to the Radial Castle. I’ll make sure you have help.”

“You’re not coming with us?” she said.

“I have work to do. I can’t.”

“But you’re supposed to be her guardian! This is kinda more important than work? Sophitia said, grabbing her fur with her feelers. Phoenix didn’t change face once. “Argh, forget you! I shouldn’t be surprised that bastard agents like you exist.”

Phoenix still didn’t react to her, watching her catch up with the others. Not one emotion showed on his face, not even after the group had vanished into Everend’s distance.

…

If Lute ever wanted to know what true panic felt like, now he knew. Soon after their trip to the east of Everend started, all he could think about was Infia. He knew that the Minun was upset at Sophitia, but he had thought it a simple problem with Sophitia’s actions, not something so bad that she would pull a stunt like this.

He didn’t want to do it, but he was mentally preparing himself for the worst of this. He didn’t know how to, but he was expecting to deal with Infia no longer being around. He couldn’t imagine it either, and that thought was what had him feeling so jittery and weak. If somebody else found something to be upset about right this very moment, he might just explode into tears and wild thrashing.

Thankfully, no one said anything that might cause that to happen. Everyone was silent and focused, though their faces told of whether their frustration or sadness drove them. The further out from the town they went, the more those emotions disappeared however, sinking into a basic concern at their current surroundings.

Lute and his friends had never been this far away from the town before. Beyond the river cave and into the distant fields normally obscured by fog during cold weather, the hilly fields of the countryside turned into tangled webs of curly weeds and soggy soil. The greenery grew long enough to tickle Lute’s cheeks, while the shape of it all grew into erratic yet ugly patterns. There were enough trees and flowers to be called a forest as well, and some of it even grew fruit.

All the time during their travel, the silhouette of the towering castle in the distance became closer and closer, and as it did, so did the fog and chilly weather. It was as if Lute’s increasing fears were setting the scenery for him, obscuring his future and forcing him to be more careful than he had ever been before.

“Do you guys know anything about this castle? Infia knew the name of it and stuff, so I’m wondering why she chose to go there,” Sophitia finally broke the silence.

“It’s one of Everend’s only landmarks, if you can call it that. One of the places that travelling Pokémon come to town to explore. I don’t really know anything else besides rumours,” Cinder said.

“Whatever’s worth making note of,” she rolled her eyes.

“They say it used to be a castle that ancient Pokémon used. Weird facts like the castle being able to fly in the sky, but now it’s rooted into the ground in such a way that it’s leaning constantly,” Cinder said. Lute and Raiju raised their heads in interest. “It’s supposed to be a real sight to see. But feral Pokémon live there now, so Pokémon from the town normally leave it alone.”

“I’m not the only one that feels like it’s been covered in fog for ages now, am I?” Raiju said.

“I… think it has. I kinda saw it briefly when I first came to Everend, but even then, it was barely visible through the fog,” Sophitia said, rubbing her chin. Lute slowly looked up at her. “Before you say anything, we both saw it when we came out of the river cave. I’m not suddenly remembering anything.”

That wasn’t important now, anyway. Under normal circumstances, rumours like that would drive his curiosity and excite him. But he just couldn’t. The way he felt right now, any other thought was a distraction from the potential life-changing disaster that was Infia’s dark note.

“Okay, now it’s my turn to ask a question. Can you still feel Infia’s emotions?” Cinder asked.

Sophitia stopped in her tracks, shivering as chilly moisture stuck to her. “I can’t. But it stopped after we found her note. It’s more like the feelings were coming from the note itself and not her?”

“So we have no idea if we’re too late or not,” he became stern. Lute shivered hard, and he gasped quietly.

“Don’t say stuff like that you dingus!” Raiju cried.

“What do you mean? That’s just all the more reason to hurry,” he said, taking the lead. He stopped almost immediately, revealing that they had reached the castle. Just like the aforementioned rumours, the whole structure was rooted into the ground in such a way that the floor was tilted, but it didn’t look difficult to walk on. Everything was made of stone, so it looked even colder inside.

Not that they could even see inside. There weren’t any candles, lights, or even signs to help guide, leading to a short field of view. It didn’t look like there were any decorations either, as if the place had been stripped of all evidence that it was once inhabited. It was just a stone dungeon with the layout of a castle.

“Infia really went to somewhere like this? This is scary,” Lute said. “Is she planning to let feral Pokémon eat her or something?”

“I wouldn’t think about that. She’s somewhere here, and we need to find her. Which brings me to my next question for you two,” Cinder said, still stern. “I figured it’s because you’re both Agents of King’s Shield now, but why didn’t you contact the police for this?”

“You came with us all this way before asking something like that?” Sophitia said. He didn’t reply. “That’s just the way how I work. I don’t think the police could get here on time.”

Cinder hesitated for a moment. “You’re telling the truth? What about you, Lute?”

Lute flinched. “Me? Uh… I-I… I wasn’t thinking straight. I just… Infia…”

“Those are pretty simple questions not to have an answer to,” a new voice took their attention, making them all flinch. Lute cried out and started trembling, though everyone took sides stood back to back with one another. There were no silhouettes. “Up here!”

Lute quickly turned his gaze up, spotting a shadow standing in one of the trees nearby. It jumped towards him before he could get a proper look at it, and he cried out again, only to get muffled as the Pokémon snatched him up.

“Lute!” Sophitia gasped, following the figure with her feelers. Both were slapped away by an attack, but that let Raiju and Cinder confront the figure with bared flames and crackling electricity.

“Hey hey, quieten down already! Are you trying to get us all killed?” the Pokémon replied, standing defensively. It was a Chespin as tall as Sophitia, keeping Lute held tightly under one arm while the other held the green thorns of a Needle Arm attack. The leaves of his green hood were spiked as well. Lute squirmed and let out muffled moans until the Chespin let him free from annoyance.

He was bulky for his species, bulky and tall. His figure was sturdy, the darker brown spots of his fur were styled, and he even had excess fur in a ponytail hanging behind his head. “Kids like you are way out of your league hanging about a place like this. You wanna leave this to the experts.”

“We can’t do that. Our friend is in there,” Sophitia said.

Chespin raised an eyebrow. “Inside a Spirle hideout?”

“Yeah! Inside the- wait wait wha whoa who wha?” Raiju spat. “Spirle hideout?”

“That’s the Radial Castle. It’s just a landmark for—”

“It’s now a hideout for Spirle goons and a High Point. Take the word of a mercenary,” Chespin said, brushing them away. A sloppy roar echoed through the air, and they all turned to the castle. “Look, I don’t have time for this. Be good kids and just get out of here, okay?”

He ran inside before anyone could object, though more of the cries came from within. Lute shook himself off and ran after him, stopping at the entrance. “We don’t have time to be standing around, either! Guys, let’s just go!”

“So to answer my questions, you two are just the attack first, ask questions later type?” Cinder said.

“I guess you could say that, but does it matter?” Sophitia said. The group ran inside, quickly coming to a stop when the sound of fighting took over. It was too dark and foggy to see the distant walls from in here, but there were flashes and glows from attacks going off. A fierce battle was going down between the Chespin and some dark coloured opponents, a couple of giants.

“Wait a minute, those noises, are those Risen?” Sophitia gasped, heading straight toward them.

“Sophitia, observe first, strategize!” Cinder cried.

She didn’t listen to him. She ran right towards the combatants, getting close enough to see for herself. They were Risen after all, the slimy, mud-coloured monsters with fat scythes for arms and hulking figures. One of them roared at Sophitia from behind its mask, making her fur stand on end. Its piercing red eyes were the only feature that stood out in the lighting.

Lute was right behind her, not thinking twice about using Swift. He jumped above the blue Sylveon and threw his attack at the Risen, and although it didn’t flinch, it turned its attention on him, roaring in his direction.

“Uh oh,” he staggered away.

“Hey Lute, not the time for training. I’ll take him out, you guys look for Infia,” Sophitia called out, summoning her magic sword and shield. She bashed against the monster’s arm and then tried to slice it, but her blade bounced right off its muddy skin. “What the?”

“Get down!” Chespin cried, coming out of nowhere. He punched the back of her head hard enough to knock her to the floor, but that let a Fire Blast attack stream right over her.

She didn’t have time to thank him, though. There were two Risen, and the one that Chespin fought held a large fireball on each hand. It unleashed them one at a time, the first one at Chespin who dodged with a dive to the side, while Sophitia blocked the second by hiding behind her shield. It still sent her skidding across the floor, though.

“Sophitia!” Lute cried, blinking tears away. “N-no, I’m not going to leave you like this.”

“Then just don’t get yourself hurt,” she growled.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Raiju said, popping up beside them. “Look I’m ready to run when you guys are, but I ain’t bein’ the scaredy Meowth of the group.”

“If we take this thing down, we’re doing it together. Everyone, attack at once,” Cinder said, growling at it as well.

“But I can’t—” Sophitia was about to say, stopping when she saw the three of them ready their powers. Lute used Swift, Cinder threw up a Flamethrower, and Raiju cried out to release a Thunderbolt. The three attacks hit one of the Risen directly in the chest, making it cry out. A blast occurred, and it stumbled and fell to its back. “Wow. You two are stronger than I expected.”

“Evolution gives you a default edge,” Raiju snickered.

Meanwhile, Chespin was still dealing with the fire-throwing Risen. He alone had the strength to stagger it with Needle Arm, but nothing that brought it to the ground. He avoided several blasts of flame and countered with hefty punches, stopping when that Risen suddenly backed off from him.

The other Risen stood back up and started communicating with its partner through gurgled growls. That raised eyebrows and obvious questions, but all were answered soon after when the muddy monsters dove into one another. Their dirty figures glowed for a moment on impact, and then began to melt into each other, combining into one colossal, hulking monstrosity. With four arms, sludgy waste that dribbled off constantly, and a hunching pose that made it look like it didn’t even fit into the room, it roared with an irritating volume to intimidate.

“Okay, that’s new,” Chespin said, wide-eyed. The Risen drew back two of its fists, and he shot over to Lute and the others, who weren’t reacting. “Oh shit!”

All of them cried out as the fists were swung, but all they felt was the force of a heavy impact that shook the ground. Sophitia was the first to look up, seeing the Chespin protecting them all with his back. A large, thorny shield had grown from his glowing back. “Of course, Spiky Shield.”

“Less wows, more getting’ out of here like I told you to,” Chespin growled, straining to keep the shield up.

“Right,” Lute cried as he dashed free with the others. The moment they all moved away, Chespin let up his shield and jumped high to avoid another punch. He ended up diving and rolling across the ground to avoid subsequent attacks from the colossal Risen, ending with his back to a corner of the room.

“Oh no, we’ve gotta help him,” Raiju cried.

“How? We can’t even touch something like that,” Cinder said.

“Well we’ve got to do something,” Sophitia cried.

The fight continued before they were ready, with the Risen holding two of its hands high. Fire Blast attacks emerged at the palms of both, while the other two arms pulled back to smash the ground. Chespin stared it all down with a cocky smile however, finally snickering about something.

The Fire Blasts came first. The moment one was fired, he dove and flipped into a Rollout attack, slipping between the Risen’s feet. He kept rolling and curled around the second Fire Blast, and then jumped out his attack to let vines extend from his shoulders. As the Risen twisted around to try and smash him into the ground, he wrapped his vines around its legs, releasing the attack by flipping back into Rollout.

Before anyone realised, there was a thick tangle of vines all around the legs of the Risen. But Chespin didn’t stop there, he rolled right up the monster’s arm, swinging himself with fluent momentum until he reached the monster’s head. Once there, he kicked off of it to launch himself even higher, coming down with both arms pulled back. However, his body glowed with a sparking burst of green energy.

“Frenzy Plant!” Chespin roared at the top of his voice, using both arms to hammer down into the Risen. The green energy exploded from him, coming out in the shape of vicious roots lined with spikes. The roots wrapped themselves around the top half of the Risen, making it stumble backward. It tripped immediately thanks to the prior Vine Whip, and then the roots exploded, sending the monster to the ground with enough force to shake the whole castle.

Cries and smoke took over the room from the impact, and Lute and the others had to shield themselves even from their distance. But several angst filled moments later, the smoke began to clear and the cries of the Risen stopped. The entire top half of the monster had been disintegrated, leaving only a melting bottom half. Chespin was a good distance from it, breathing aloud and crouched on one hand. Once the smoke cleared, he stood up in triumph. “Now that was a workout.”

“H-he took that whole thing out by himself,” Sophitia said, jaw-dropped.

“If that was a Chesnaught, I wouldn’t be so surprised. But I’m not dreaming, am I?” Cinder said. “Did you see that? He knew Frenzy Plant.”

“The strongest grass type move,” Raiju said.

“So what, you kids don’t know how to follow instructions or something?” Chespin said. “I told you to leave how many times. Don’t make me have to make you leave.”

“We-were not going. I-I mean, thank you, you’re amazing,” Lute said.

“Okay. Are you just dumb sightseers?”

“No. We came here to find our friend. She’s here, she came here to… oh gods, we don’t have time to mess around. We need to find Infia, she could be anywhere here,” Lute said.

“Infia?” Chespin said, raising an eyebrow.

“Lute, what’ve I told you about saying too much? Yeah our friend a Minun came here. I’m not gonna doubt you in that this is a Spirle hideout since those Risen were here, but we really can’t leave until we find her,” Sophitia said. Chespin was quiet.

“So that’s what this is about. You’re just her friends I take it?” he folded his arms. “Well this is a horrible place for a game of hide and seek, but I’ll let you look around if you follow my lead and don’t get in my way.”

Sophitia groaned while Cinder stepped forward and bowed, Raiju copying a moment later. “We really appreciate your help, sir. Thank you for saving us as well.”

“A High Point is here, so I’m serious. Don’t play hero and stay behind me,” Chespin said as he walked past them.

“Risen, a High Point, Spirle members…” Lute hung his head. “N-no. I can’t be scared. Infia came here, but she’s still alive. She _has_ to be.”

“If she was killed by those Risen, we’d have found a body. So you don’t need to worry about that,” Chespin said. Lute looked up at him in surprise, even though he wasn’t looking at them. “Stay behind me, now.”

Lute and the others exchanged weird glances and then followed, keeping a distance. At one of the corners of the room was an unseen staircase that spiralled upwards in a square fashion, keeping to the sides as it rose. At the end of each steep section was a corridor leading to another area of the castle or a room. All of it was so high up and distant that the furthest walls were shrouded in fog, and their field of view soon reduced to the limited light Sophitia’s magic shield gave off. Chespin didn’t seem to be bothered by that, though.

“Hey er, mister? What’s your name?” Raiju asked once they came to a stop. He was checking out one of the corridors, quickly concluding to move on.

“I don’t think that’s important,” he replied.

“That… makes it hard to trust you, even though you just saved us,” Cinder said.

“You’re good kids, and I’m just a _naughty_ mercenary that you’re probably not gonna run into again after today.”

“But you—” Lute began.

“Trust me, kid. It’s much better if you don’t know who I am. After today, forget that you saw me,” Chespin glanced back. His serious look made Lute’s heart heavy.

“Yeah. Like we’re just supposed to accept that as a reason,” Sophitia said. “So what’s so important about you that you have to stay secret? Who are you?”

“What do you wanna know about me?” Chespin said, raising both eyebrows at her.

“Ugh, don’t give me that look. I just asked for your name.”

He answered her by holding out his right arm. Only now they noticed a gold bracelet on it. “So what? You’re rich or something?”

“No Sophitia, it’s a unison bracelet. Pokémon who are married wear matching bracelets or rings with their partners,” Cinder said.

“Hu-what? What does that have to do with me asking questions?”

“It means I’m taken, hun. No names, no addresses. Plus, you should probably aim for a dude your own age,” Chespin said.

“That’s not what I’m talking about!”

“Oh, so you swing both ways?”

“What- tsk, you’re going to annoy me rather than answer, aren’t you?”

“Well you won’t take no for an answer, so,” he replied, stopping at another corridor. His face switched. “This isn’t good. It’s starting to look like Spirle bailed while we were fighting. This place is empty. Their machines aren’t even around.”

“But then where would Infia be?” Lute said. Chespin thought about it for a moment, scratching his chin. “Sh-she came here to kill herself!”

Chespin flinched, facing them all. “Why didn’t you tell me it was that serious? At the top. If I was to guess a suicide method that wasn’t those Risen, then a jump from the peak would—”

“N-no, I don’t want to- Infia!” Lute cried, shaking his head. He flew into a Quick Attack and bolted up the stairs.

“Wait you idiot, this might be a trap!” Chespin cried, sticking an arm out.

“Lute!” the other called out as well.

It was still a long way up, but Quick Attack made it more of a long-lasting sprint. If there was a chance she was there, then Lute desperately didn’t want to miss her. He couldn’t afford to, and he hadn’t let go of that thought even once.

The staircase reached its peak in the middle of the wall rather than in a corner, where the final steps led out onto a flat roof high in the sky. He had to skid to a stop to not crash into the wall thanks to how sudden the change of layout was, but that enabled him to see all that he needed to see.

There she was. Infia was at the far end of the roof, stood on top of the battlements with her back to him. It looked like she was hugging herself, but it was difficult to make out the details thanks to the sunset obscuring her colours. But he knew it was her, the shape and height matched up perfectly.

He lost his voice as she stepped forward. Just then, everything besides Infia, this setting, and himself, seemed to vanish from reality. She stepped off the roof, and he was the only one who could have stopped her. He screamed her name and burst forward with Quick Attack again, throwing himself over the merlon without thinking about it, having nothing in his mind but his wish to avoid to worst.

He met her lifeless face once he was over the edge, catching up enough to cradle her in his front paws. His chest heaved with a crazy increase in momentum, and he shut his tearing eyes, doing nothing but pulling her into his chest as tightly as he could.

“Son of a- argh!” Chespin roared, one the edge of the roof himself. His vines were stretched out and had just about grasped Lute by his tail, but that awful grip had him slide forward just too far. He made an effort to pull back, but his feet slipped off the footing.

“No!” Sophitia screamed. The moment he slipped off the ledge, her paws wrapped around Chespin’s front, and then Raiju’s wrapped around her waist, with Cinder doing the same for Raiju. With a Pokémon chain formed, the lot of them pulled back with all their might, flinging Lute and Infia high in the air. They all landed in a messy, painful heap, but Lute ignored all of those feelings to get up and cradle Infia once again.

“Oh my gods,” he whispered continuously, trembling uncontrollably. She didn’t move in his arms, but that didn’t stop him from nuzzling into her. She was almost like a lifeless doll, limp and expressionless.

“Holy cow that was close,” Raiju said as he stood up with everyone else.

“Close is an understatement,” Cinder huffed.

Chespin looked like he was going to have a go at them until he realised Lute’s state, gripping the Minun so tightly. There were both shaking hard from the near-death situation, so he decided to step back instead, sliding out of view of Lute and his friends, who crowded round.

“Infia… please, don’t ever do that again,” Lute whispered, moaning in an effort to hold back tears. They were both still breathing heavily, but quietened down.

Although her blank appearance never changed, Infia eventually slid her arms around Lute and slowly slid her face into his mane. Never before had it felt so good to bury herself into his warmth.


	13. Episode 13: Missing Feelings

Everyone expected Lute to be talkative after their successful rescue. But instead, the Eevee was quieter than he was during their trip to the Radial Castle. To say he was lost in thought was an understatement – he was so far deep that he didn’t even respond when his name was called.

This whole experience made him reflect on all of his recent events. He felt responsible for Infia’s depression, responsible because of his own refusal to accept everything that had actually been going on. He wanted everything to be black and white. He wanted Sophitia’s amnesia to lead to adventure. He wanted being an agent to lead to excitement.

But instead, all it did was reveal the nasty intricacies of reality. He didn’t know what was being expected from him, yet he felt as though he was being expected to know and act in some adult way. Meanwhile, the feelings of those closest to him were going through the same thing, and despite how obvious that was, he had been ignoring them all the whole time.

Infia was fine. She was alive. He so badly wanted to be relieved about that, but it was obvious that she wasn’t and was still in the same danger as before. The way she sat on his back, slumped forward like a lifeless doll the whole way back to Everend told him. He couldn’t feel a single living vibe from her.

“Lute!” Cinder’s voice finally snapped him out of his trance. The Flareon had to shout at the top of his voice.

“Wha?” the Eevee responded, dazed a bit.

“Finally. We’re back in Everend. But you’ve been out of it the whole time,” he said. “What’s the plan?”

“It’s kinda late. And we haven’t eaten yet, either. You guys hungry?” Raiju asked.

Lute made a sound and looked around to gather where he was. Everend was unchanged. Just the same quiet, cosy town filled with Pokémon following routine. The hour was late and dark, so there weren’t many Pokémon around. None of them would be aware or maybe even care much that he had just dived off a tower to save a Pokémon’s life. Or maybe Infia’s current state would be enough evidence that they would care.

Infia’s current state. Of course. This was about her right now, not him. When they found her, she wasn’t wearing her usual clothing, not even the necessary nappy. It revealed that the situation with the mirror was worse than they imagined, too. Her body, her arms especially, were covered in cuts and marks that looked like they been had dug into continuously while never given a chance to heal. You would never be able to tell how much she’d hurt herself beneath all her usual pink. He wanted to ask about it but refrained.

“We should get you home. More than anything, you need rest,” Lute said. She shuffled a bit, but that was all.

“I would say that’s a good call, but, what’s the deal with that Fennekin?” Cinder said.

Lute led the way anyway. “We’ll have to deal with him.”

“You can’t stop him from doing his job,” Infia said, sounding weak.

“But his job was also to look after you. And right when it mattered most, he refused to help,” Lute said, unable to hide his fury. He held his breath for a moment, surprised to hear himself sound so angry. His tone silenced Infia though, only making him down his ears. “Sorry, Infia. I’m not going to do anything bad. I just… I really want you to be okay after all this.”

He couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Sophitia, but she was as silent and focused as she’d been since rescuing Infia. The Sylveon hadn’t said a word to either of them, staying back and out of his sight during their trip home. And she stayed that way even after they arrived at Infia’s home, avoiding eye contact with him all the way. She even left Lute to knock, which he made as politely as he could.

“You’re here,” he muttered the moment Phoenix answered. The Fennekin didn’t say anything, he just welcomed them all inside and let them gather in one of the front rooms. There was a tea table in the centre and a sofa, although not at the height expected for any of the Pokémon currently here. Victoria probably wouldn’t even be able to use them.

“You managed to stop her. Thank you,” Phoenix said after they’d all settled down. Infia finally got off Lute’s back, and he approached her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded with a light noise which he acknowledged by walking around her. “I had your clothes washed and returned your room to normal. I also made sure we were stocked up on your favourite cheese snacks, all of them. Do not hold back on eating, and make sure you get plenty of rest.”

“Wait, that’s it? Now you’re going to actually start acting like a carer?” Sophitia gritted her fangs.

“I am afraid I won’t be around tonight, so I won’t be able to make you pizza or anything. But you know what to do if you want hot food,” he said. “If those wounds start to hurt, there are Sitrus Berries in the bag in the kitchen. It is hanging near the fireplace.”

“Are you ignoring me?” Sophitia raised her voice.

“Guys… it’s okay.” Infia looked down. Lute felt a nerve get hit, and he tensed his whole body.

“No it’s not okay! You don’t have to say it is. This guy doesn’t even sound like he cares,” he shouted. “What’s with you? First you leave Infia alone for all this time, then when she needs our help the most, you go and do something else? And now you wanna look like you actually care?”

Phoenix didn’t answer, but he did turn face them. Lute growled, feeling put down by the Pokémon’s mature aura. But he couldn’t back down. This was for Infia. With his heart full of fear and eyes on the verge of tears, he stomped his feet, challenging Phoenix with the bravest pose he could muster.

“I was busy with something of equal importance,” Phoenix said, emotionless and unmoving.

“This isn’t right! What could you possibly be doing that’s ‘equally important’? You left her alone to die!” Lute cried.

Phoenix bared his fangs, the slightest hint of a growl sneaking through. “Trying to save Esther.”

“Trying to—” Lute said, and then he snapped shut. He sucked in a breath, Sophitia and Infia doing similar. “Save Esther?”

“You mean… she’s still kidnapped? The other agents haven’t saved her yet?” Infia said.

“The other agents aren’t even looking. Me and Kuri were the only ones investigating,” he said. “We managed to settle for a ransom deal. And I am to make the exchange tonight.”

For the first time in an argument, Lute stopped to think long and hard about what he’d just learnt and what he knew. He already knew that Phoenix was an agent before he was, and he was obviously trustworthy enough to be chosen to take care of Infia. Despite being given that task, he was multitasking enough to set up this ransom exchange with a Spirle High Point. In Lute’s short time at the Agent’s of King’s Shield, he was the first Pokémon to get this kind of opportunity.

Even still, the Fennekin had prioritised Esther over Infia. It felt questionable until he asked himself why, where recent memories played out in his head.

_“You’ve mentioned fluffy cheeks a few times. Who or what?” Sophitia said._

_“Oh, Fluffy Cheeks! Mister Fluffy Cheeks is Mister Fluffy Cheeks. He’s called that ‘cos that’s what he’s got, fluffy cheeks!” Esther cheered. Lute and Sophitia exchanged blank gazes, making her laugh. “He’s my Fennekin guard, silly! The cutie’s really quiet, but he’s a real sweetheart. He’s always looking out for me, and it makes Brayen pretty jealous.”_

The whole conversation repeated several times before he clicked. Phoenix might have had a closer relationship with Esther than he expected, perhaps even something similar to himself and Infia – not exactly love, but not exactly friendship either, but the complicated in between.

“D-do you mind if I ask a few questions?” Lute said.

“Ask what you wish. However, we need to be on our way soon,” Phoenix said. He turned to Infia robotically. “You will need to stay here and recover your strength. You have concerns for Esther, don’t you?”

Infia shuddered, but her face said it all, pale and flustered. She gulped and nodded, paws by her mouth.

“Stay here and recover your strength. I will do my best to ensure she comes home. Lute, you will need to come with me,” Phoenix said.

“U-uhm, sorry but I’m really not comfortable with that whole shtick,” Sophitia said. “We’ve literally just got home from like, something pretty damn serious, you know? We can’t just leave her here. Lute should stay with her.”

“You’re _really_ still going to pull that after all of this?” Cinder said. Sophitia shivered, hard.

“The condition for the ransom exchange is actually that Lute is present,” Phoenix said. Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Me?” he said. He shook his head. “Why me? What do I have to do with Esther?”

“I don’t know. The condition was to exchange money, and for Lute to be present. I believe it would be wise for you to be present as well.”

“Well yeah. Not the best plan to totally trust terrorists,” Sophitia said with a shrug.

“Well how about this. We’ll stay here with Infia for the night. You guys go and get Esther.” Cinder stood in between them. “We’re classmates of hers, so it’s fine.”

“Aww what? I was waitin’ for you to suggest the cooler idea,” Raiju whined.

“Normally I would suggest all going together, but we’re in no condition to. And at the end of the day, Lute and Sophitia are the agents. Not us,” he said. Raiju grumbled.

“Correct. I would not authorise you coming with us,” Phoenix said. “Are you able to depart now?”

“This sudden, too. What would you have done if we had failed? Or if Lute wasn’t here?” Sophitia said.

“I would still attend. Not attending achieves nothing,” he said. She groaned, rubbing her face. “We can use the Deposit Box to get to the destination.”

“Wa-wait. Just before you go, please,” Infia said, looking side to side. She jogged out the room, Raiju following her for a moment. She gestured for him not to follow however, getting unsure looks from everyone. She only disappeared into her room and was out in a minute though, returning with a necklace.

“What’s this? It looks pretty nice,” Lute said. He froze when she leaned in and hung it around his neck, making sure that the jewel was at the front. It was a thin necklace with a small, clear sphere on it. Lute held it up and looked into it, noticing the strange pattern of waves floating around within, as if there was clear liquid flowing inside.

“I made it a long while ago. It… gives me strength. But you might need it more,” she said.

“If it gives you stre—”

“In fact, you should keep it. You _will_ need it more. It’s better in your paws, please. It’s all I can give you for saving me.”

He went quiet. “Thank you. I’ll cherish it.”

“You guys, please be careful.” She looked down. “I… know what it seems like, but I don’t hate Esther. She doesn’t deserve to be hurt by Spirle at all. Please try to save her. I know you’re agents that’re really strong too, but please don’t let yourselves get hurt, too. You’re more important.”

“_You_ be careful! I’m going to be more worried about you.” Lute put a paw on her. “Please… I-I’ll be back. I-it won’t be like this for long. I promise.”

She didn’t reply, but she did look up for a moment. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to cheer her up so easily, but he wanted to get that message through somehow. With clear reluctance, he faced Phoenix and Sophitia, and nodded to tell them he was ready.

…

Their destination was a city called Angard, so Lute and Sophitia were surprised when the Deposit Box dropped them off in the open wilderness of a dead field. The trio landed on dried weeds that disintegrated from the touch. Surrounding them was the layout of cultivated fields, only all the flowers and vegetation were no better than crusty stems and rock-hard soil.

“Is this?” Lute muttered as he rubbed his eyes to try and focus. The sun had set and the stars were out, so the dark grey and black of all the vegetation wasn’t helping him work out the way forward. He did eventually settle on the silhouettes of some structures in the distance though, tall and square enough shapes to be called a city.

“Whoa okay, that’s cold. Trust the bad guys to pick a dusty old place like this.” Sophitia scrunched up as if she stepped in something nasty.

“It is cold. And everything’s… dead. Wait, what is this place?” Lute said.

“It is a city called Angard. The nutrition from the planet has been stolen from this country, so the entire continent is uninhabitable,” Phoenix said as he led the way towards the city. “We need to move, or we will be late.”

“If I knew it was gonna be this cold, I’d have asked if we could get clothes.” Sophitia wrapped her feelers around herself. “Did they say where to meet them? Because we seem pretty far out of nowhere.”

“By the crater. The crater is the only remarkable place left here. So I cannot tell you exactly, but I believe it will be easy to find once we are nearby,” Phoenix said.

Silence fell for a moment. Lute had questions, but held back out of interest in the area. It was freezing, but the air was stagnant, like a chill was gradually working its way into him rather than brushing past him in the wind. Contrary to that, the way all the plants and fields were charcoal coloured, to him it almost looked like the world had been burnt to a crisp.

He smiled briefly, losing himself in the wonder of this place. This region obviously had a story, a history, a legend that he’d love to spend all day researching. But he shook his head to dismiss all of that, realising he was getting distracted. This area’s story was something to keep in mind, but it was unrelated. For now, he had to keep his focus on Infia and Esther’s matters. With the city still in the distance, he had time to chat.

“Phoenix, you mentioned a Pokémon called Kuri earlier. Who was that?” he said, realising he had to look up at Phoenix. For a Fennekin, he was huge, almost Sophitia’s size.

“Kuri is a friend, a Chespin mercenary who I keep in contact with.” Phoenix didn’t look back at him.

“A Mercenary?” Lute said.

“It’s sorta like a fighter or a soldier that gets hired to fight for money. They usually only do serious work, like fighting wars, or serving as bodyguards,” Sophitia said. “Can’t think what a mercenary would do in a world like this, though. Besides Spirle, everything seems so peaceful.”

“He is the one I asked to help you find Infia. Did he not meet you at the Radial Castle?” Phoenix asked.

Sophitia’s eyes widened. “You… did say you would ensure we had help. I thought you just meant calling some useless social service or something, but… Yes, he did. If we’re talking about the same Chespin.”

“There was a Chespin who helped. He didn’t tell us his name or anything, though,” Lute said.

“I cannot think why he would decide to do that. Kuri is a friend, but he is wanted by the Agents of King’s Shield. I personally leak information to him so that he can avoid arrest while he goes about his personal mission. It’s a secret to everybody,” he said. “Please do not tell the other agents. Our work is imperative.”

“My lips are sealed,” Sophitia said with a zipping motion.

“Wait. You do that?” Lute gasped. “Why? Who exactly are you and Kuri?”

There was a pause of quiet, and Lute had to slow down to stay behind Phoenix. The Fennekin sped right back up though, and never looked back once. “I do not know the exact answer to that question. What you see and think of me is who I am.”

“So not exactly the most welcoming person ever,” Sophitia said.

“I have little memories of my childhood. According to Silver and the other Agents of King’s Shield, Spirle kidnapped me and my family to conduct experiments. My parents were turned into Risen, while I was turned into who I am now,” Phoenix said. “I am a Pokémon who has been enhanced through unknown means of genetic engineering.”

Sophitia’s face went straight.

“I… sorry, I don’t know what you mean by engineering? Do you mean they turned you into a machine or something?” Lute scratched his head.

“Pokémon say that I am many times stronger than my species should allow, but that I lack any feelings or emotions. I do not need to eat or sleep, and I do not tire when running or fighting. I can hold my breath for a long time as well, though the Pokémon still keep me away from water, saying that I shouldn’t touch it,” he saidn. “It was Kuri who took me away from Spirle. He is the first Pokémon I have ever known to show concern for me. I believe the term to use is that he ‘raised me like his own child’. When I learned enough about the world from him, he sent me to the agents. When I learnt that the agents wanted to arrest him, I decided to pay him back by protecting him in secret.”

“For someone with no emotions, you certainly do care about that Chespin a lot.” Sophitia looked away. Lute spared her a glance as well, finding her more troubled than before.

Phoenix scrunched up his face. “I can only act as I have been taught. I believe that this is the way Pokémon would act to those they care about?”

“Well, yeah. That’s right, that’s taking care of a friend,” she said. “You just don’t look it or anything, you know? Nor do you sound it. The way you spoke before, it sounded to me like you put work over everything.”

“All I know is to follow orders. Kuri taught me to take care of Pokémon who have done good to me. And when I was made to be Esther’s personal bodyguard, she treated me in that way. But I have failed in letting her get kidnapped. I must do everything I can to ensure she is harmed as little as possible.”

“So Esther really is a close friend to you.” Lute went quiet.

“I believe in your terms, yes, she is a close friend. She did not treat me as a bodyguard, or a tool for my strength like the agents or Spirle do. She enjoys me being around, and nor do I mind her habits or routines.”

“_Probably because of the food and sweets he sneaks to her and stuff. It sounds like they really are closer friends than I thought. Better friends than I ever treated Infia,_” Lute thought, looking up. “_Better not ask too many questions in case I get on his nerves. But I don’t get why he works for the agents if he doesn’t like the way they treat him. If they ever found out he was leaking information to Kuri, both of them would be in big trouble. Wouldn’t it be better to just not work for the agents at all?_”

Meanwhile…

“You’ve got to be the prettiest Pokémon I’ve ever held hostage,” a Klefki said, jingling its keys as it bounced around the air. Esther was sat on a clean and comfy bed with her arms folded.

“You’ve said that for the dozenth time already,” she grumbled.

“I’ve gotta ask, ya’know? Why you decided to play hostage. I mean I’m happy to have a Pokémon to play with like this, especially when I get put on duty. And especially when they’re _beautiful_ Pokémon like you. But like, really, why even stay in my grip? You could’ve left ages ago,” Klefki said. His voice was like an infant that had just learnt to talk.

Esther thought to ignore him, shutting her eyes to try and drown out his nonsensical rambles. But he just kept on going, praising her and reminding her or her appearance over and over until she growled and her cheeks crackled. “Shut up already!”

“Na-uh. We’ve gotta kill time until your prince gets here. And I hate waitin’ for authorities, they take _so_ long. So let’s chat, get to known each other. Did I forget to mention that it’s a real honour to be in your presence because you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met?”

“Oh my gods I get it! Why are we even having this conversation?” Esther cried and made fists. Klefki stopped in front of her, jingling his keys as he giggled.

“Because you are as powerful as you are cute. And you’re _really_ cute, so I know for a fact that you could’ve pummelled me and made a break for it a while ago. But instead, you sit here and put up with me. How come?” he said, and gasped at the end. “Could it be? Do you like me in secret?”

“You’re a Spirle High Point. You’re gonna try something shady if I lose. Considering your wacky attitude, I get the feeling I’ll make a mistake in trying to run, it’ll just entertain you. I’ve seen that skit before.” she folded her arms again.

“Nah-uh. We’re meeting your prince on neutral ground. I can promise you; I’ve never seen this place before in my life.” Klefki calmed down a bit. He floated close to Esther’s face, opening his ring out to wrap it around her neck. She breathed in sharply and grit her teeth, shivering intensely. “Or maybe you do like me, don’t you? You’re enjoying these hours we’ve spent together.”

“Get that nasty idea outta your head. I hate you. I’ve hated you from the moment I first heard your voice,” she growled. That set him off laughing, and he started spinning around her again. “And you’re Spirle scum! I would die before I fall for the likes of any of you!”

“Aww, that’s such a horrible thing to say to a ten-year-old. I didn’t take you for the snobby type that hates children. Boo hoo,” he said, and then started singing into laughter.

“Wait, you’re ten years old? The actual hell?” She gasped.

“Oh yes. I’m a ten-year-old Klefki that has been made into a masterclass of Pokémon. Not even the mighty Arceus could kill me if given the chance! You’ll see a fraction of my power when your prince arrives,” he said, half-lidded. “But for you… er, nah. Everything I’ve wanted to do with you, I’ve already done.”

Esther looked away for a moment, quickly realising what he may have meant. “Wait, what the hell did you do to me in my sleep?”

“Nothing, mwahahaha!”

“I swear to Arceus, if you put that key of yours in places it shouldn’t go, the so help me gods I will—”

“Oh my, your mind went straight to the gutter! What a naughty lady you are.”

“You- argh, what is actually wrong with you?” she cried, grabbing her head.

“Let’s just say theoretically I did do something naughty. I wanna see what you’re gonna do to me. Go ahead, one free attack!” he said. Esther raised a fist but backed down with a growl. “Aww. If you need your weapon, it’s upstairs. I’m not gonna stop ya.”

“I’ve been behind bars until now. What makes you think I’ll fall for your little tricks? You’re not going to make it that easy.” She folded her arms once again.

“It’s a shame that there’s no trust between us. I’d love to have the trust of a pretty Pokémon like you. But really, all your stuff is upstairs,” Klefki said. “Victor was really hung up about keeping you tied up and gagged and all that, but that’s not my style.”

“I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not pity, it’s care. And to be honest, I do not care what happens to you. Just like I do not care what happens to your prince. Understand this: I have absolutely zero use for you, even with my position in Spirle. As a hostage, you are worth nothing to me. So I’ve given you the freedom to do whatever you want. I’d love for you to entertain me, but you’ll only be worth that and nothing more, so I won’t press it,” he said as he floated right up to her face again. “Besides chatting of course, mwahahaha! So, what’s your favourite colour? What’s your best attack? Who is you boyfriend? I’m _dying_ to know.”

“Like I’d answer any of that!”

“Not even the favourite colour? That’s like, the least invasive question there is.”

“I—” she froze. She stood up and hopped off the bed. “It’s actually pink. I find it cute.”

“See? Was that so hard?” he said with a giggle. “Although, I never would’ve guessed. The way you talk, it seems like the real you and your stage persona are totes different.”

“They are different. But wearing pink is an actual preference,” she said as she headed for the stairs. The house they were in wasn’t like anything she’d seen before, being two storey and decorated with a variety of colours. There were lots of spaces in the walls and floor that implied there was once apparatus there. Even the stairs had slots for a handrail along the side that was strangely absent. She was hesitant at first, but made her way up with careful steps, each one creaking with fragility.

The top was a single room, once again devoid of anything except the coloured walls. Surely enough, all of her belongings were right there, scattered in the centre of the room. Her ribbon covered baton, her pink shirt and bows, just like the Klefki said. She eyed the room carefully, expecting some nasty trap to spring upon touch or something. But nothing happened.

“The shirt’s been washed,” she said to herself as she slipped it on. She finally looked like a pop star again. “_I can’t believe Spirle have treated me better than Brayen has. I got fed, they took care of my stuff, and now they’re letting me run free._”

She looked back at the stairs. “_I don’t know where I am, so I probably won’t get far if I leave now. But if I look around and find Phoenix before he reaches here, he may not even have to fight. But then again, that kid’s probably gonna follow me._”

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, tucking her baton beneath her tutu. It fitted behind her in such a way that it was invisible to the eyes. “_No. Whether Phoenix fights him or not, it’ll be alright. I have to believe in Phoenix’s strength._”

She made her way back downstairs to find the Klefki lying on the bed where she’d been sitting. He was sunk into the mattress, so relaxed that she almost thought he was sleeping until one of his keys raised. “Uh…”

“Your spot already smells like you. And you smell nice.”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “If I’m so useless to you, I’d rather leave.”

“Cool. Good luck with that,” he said. He didn’t move an inch. Esther raised an eyebrow, keeping her eyes on him as she opened the door to leave. Not a single movement. He was well and truly allowing her to walk out.

“_This cannot possibly be happening,_” she said, wide-eyed as she left. She shivered immediately, not expecting the outside world to be the cold, charcoal coloured land that it was. But she was surrounded by buildings just like the one she was just in, except that all of those other buildings were the same dark colours as the crusty ground. “Got to find out where I am.”

“Esther?” Lute cried, making her jump.


	14. Lute's Evolution

“Esther?” Lute cried, making the Pikachu jump. She shook her hands and immediately hushed the trio.

“If Esther’s here, then that means the High Point is nearby. Was this a trap?” Phoenix said, looking every which way to try and find it. Lute and Sophitia gasped and did the same.

“No no, he’s in the house there. But he’s… let’s just go. We can get outta here if we’re quiet,” Esther led the way. She chose a direction at random and ran down it, choosing to go between a few alleys and backstreets.

Angard turned out to be the most unsettling place that Lute had ever been to. The only colour in the entire world was the house that Esther had snuck out of. Every other structure in this city had that nasty burnt colour. Going through the tight alleyways shrouded them in total black, where not even their sense of smell could guide them. There was no smell, everything felt cold, and the presence of time moving was non-existent.

They stopped when Esther ran out of breath, where they were on the edge of what looked like a town square. The layout seemed like a functional area Pokémon could live in, but with the area so quiet and lifeless, he just couldn’t picture what kind of species would choose to stay here.

“Phew. Okay, I think we’re in the clear for a bit,” Esther said.

“What happened? Did you manage to get away?” Lute said.

“Something like that. It’s weird.” She leaned on the wall beside her.

“Don’t push the wall!” Phoenix shouted, and she flinched. It was too late however, the pressure she put on caused the wall to tilt, and with it, the foundation of the structure it held up began to collapse.

“Oh shit,” Esther whispered.

“Run!” Phoenix said.

“Goes without saying,” Sophitia cried, scraping up a gawking Lute to jump away. The building fell straight down onto itself, creating a huge cloud of dust. The crash was louder than she anticipated as well, and she cringed as a tsunami of dust covered them. It took long enough to clear for them to breathe it in and set off coughing as well, but minutes later, they were back in the clear.

“The buildings here are just as bad as the land itself. They will collapse at the lightest touch,” Phoenix said.

“Now you tell us. So much for losing him, too,” Esther said.

“The High Point? I don’t know what’s happening here, you’ve got to tell us,” Lute said.

“Oh never mind that. It’s more like, the heck was that? What actually is this place? This is crazy!” Esther cried as she spun around to look at it all.

“It’s… uh,” Sophitia said.

“Seriously, this is crazy cool. Did I really just bring down a whole building with one paw? The wonders of what I can do when I’m fed properly.”

“Esther, focus!” Phoenix said.

“I _am_ focused, and that was the coolest shit I’ve ever seen! Or well, in a while. And to think that it was you guys that came to get me, this has gotta be—” she said, bouncing on her toes. She froze and pointed to Lute. “Where’s the little Minun? She’d make this scene perfect.”

“Infia? She’s…” Lute looked behind him. He quickly realised that Esther had gotten them lost. “She’s resting at home. It’s complicated.”

“Oooh. Is she someone special?”

“What? No, I mean- yes, sorta? Why are we talking about this?”

“That response equals relationship,” Esther said with a giggle, and put her paws together. “You look after her, okay?”

“No! Please, I don’t want to talk about this now. And don’t talk like that around her too, I mean it,” he raised his voice.

“Alright alright kid, I won’t. Like you said, it’s complicated,” she swished a paw at him. “That guy is probably following the noise of the building and should be here by- yep, here it comes guys.”

Eyebrows were raised and awkward glances were shared until it became clear what she meant, where the jingling keys and excited giggling of the childish Klefki came floating towards them. The group posed to protect Esther as he approached, giving Klefki a chance to look over them all, where he started laughing even more excitedly.

“I can’t believe it. _This_ is why they wanted me to confront you for the girl’s exchange rather than Victor. They knew you’d be coming, didn’t they?” he said, jingling his keys constantly. “And to make matters better, you straight up waited for me. You do like me a lot, don’t you Esther?”

“Urgh, cut that idea out already. And you knew they’d be coming, that’s why it’s a ransom exchange?” Esther said. “But forget the corny bad guy speech. I’m out here and they’re on my side. You’ve already lost.”

“Aww, but I had one all laid out and ready to go. I even recited it in my head! Do you know how fun it is to recite things in your head and then do them in reality?”

“I’m in showbusiness. I’ve heard it all before.” She pouted.

“Aww, that’s true. Either way, the script has changed and there’s a lotta improvising to do to it now that I know who’s here,” he said. He finally stopped jingling his keys and stared at the group, particularly Lute.. His hollow eyes seemed to be staring directly into Lute’s, to which the Eevee gulped and edged away. “See the thing is Esther, this is no longer about you. It’s about us, the super Pokémon who’ve been powered up. Now that they’re here, I can finally get some real entertainment. A battle I actually have to try in!”

“Super Pokémon?” Sophitia said.

“I mean the genetically modified Pokémon, you know? Me, Phoenix, and the Eevee! That is assuming that’s Lute, of course. That is Lute, right?”

“I-I am. But why—”

“Oh for goodness sake, stop giving the bad guys your name!” Sophitia roared up into the air and slapped Lute with a feeler.

“Yes, this is so good! We’ve literally got like, the strongest Pokémon in the world right here and right now. Can we fight? You can’t say no to a no-holds-barred fight at full power! When trainers’ eyes meet, a battle starts. That’s the rule, isn’t it?” Klefki leaned forward.

“What’re you talking about? I’m not genetically modified, I’m just an Eevee!” Lute cried.

Klefki flinched back, appearing sceptical. “Yes you are. You’re just like me and Phoenix, genetically engineered to be a super Pokémon. Except that, _gasp_\- yours was done by the government, so yours has like, the best budget ever. You’re the perfect one I’m most excited to fight!”

“What?” Lute whispered, his mouth agape. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is he the crazy one? I don’t know what he’s talking about either.” Sophitia frowned.

“Yep, he’s the crazy one,” Esther said, just as unbothered. Klefki puffed out his cheeks.

“Okay, I’ll start from the top. _I_, Tetralocke, also known as Tetra, alongside Phoenix, have been genetically engineered to become a super powered Pokémon. If you don’t know what genetic engineering is, then well, how do I put this in a way that even a snobby little toddler like you can understand?” he said, as he floated about. He stopped to glare at them, his hollow face filled with antagonising. “They operated on us. They messed with our bones. Our organs. Our _brains_. They pumped us full of all the naughty stuff and made us into their super powered soldiers.”

Lute looked away. “_Phoenix told us something like that had happened to him, and that’s why he struggles to show emotion._”

“But you, the government did that to you. While me and Phoenix here had the shoddy budget of whatever Spirle’s got to work on stuff, those guys had all the world’s taxes. So no doubt, they made Lute the _perfect_ soldier. You, I can only imagine what powers are hiding in those cutesy little paws of yours. I’m so excited I can’t wait. Please, let’s stop chatting and let’s fight already!”

Lute kept looking away, more lost and confused than he’d ever been. Him, a super soldier made by the government? If he was that, he most certainly wouldn’t be living the life he was living now. The thought was so absurd that he was surprised that Sophitia wasn’t laughing at him for it.

But he was thinking hard about everything Tetra had just told him. The conditions for this ransom exchange were that he was present, for some reason. And now, this ‘super soldier’ was excited to meet and fight him. Tetra had even hinted before that he had been chosen to confront them rather than Victor, even though Victor was the one who kidnapped Esther in the first place.

There had to be a chance that what had just learnt was true.

“I have to see it for myself. I’m literally dying to see it. Fight me! Fight me Lute, and let us destroy the world around us in a battle worthy only of the gods!” Tetra said, and he started to laugh maniacally.

“Is he really that strong?” Sophitia raised her feelers from her bow. Her magic shield and sword formed at the end of each, and she posed with them, ready for battle. Meanwhile, Phoenix bared his fangs, puffing flames out in threat, while Esther spun as she drew her baton and stood on her toes.

“I dunno. I didn’t try anything. He let me walk out ‘cos he didn’t want anything to do with me or something,” Esther said.

“Seriously? What’s the guy playing at?” Sophitia said.

“Wait, is he really super powered? Doesn’t that mean we’re in danger?” Lute edged back.

“Lute, focus! He’s probably just trying to freak you out.” Sophitia looked back at him. “He’s a bad guy and a crazy kid. You can’t instantly believe everything he says—”

That was all she managed to say before a Flash Cannon attack burst right into her side, sending her flying back with a horrible scream. She went flew until she smashed right into what looked like a street sign, breaking it apart.

“Sophitia!” Lute cried.

She immediately emerged from the rubble with a livid growl, her eyes filled with rage. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“Sophitia,” Lute cried again, but was ignored. Sophitia charged right past him, taking on Tetra with her sword raised and shield held back. She swung at him several times; each attack missing thanks to his nimble floating about. When she swung overhead, her sword hit the ground and left a dent.

“Oh, you’re kinda strong too, aren’t ya? I love it I love I love it, I’m getting’ all fired up.” Tetra started laughing. “This is the perfect warmup!”

He finally retaliated, bashing into her face with his front key pointed. It made her flinch, but his main attack came when his keyring opened up, letting the rest of his keys fly off into the air. They floated around as if he was controlling them with psychic, and each one slashed or stabbed into Sophitia, drawing yelps and squeaks.

“Screw your Play Rough,” she growled, pushing her shield in the way. The keys had no effect on it, but he kept hitting it anyway, giving her a chance to strike back. With her shield held forward, she pulled her sword back and thrust it, stabbing Tetra right through the face.

“Sophitia!” Lute choked, covering his mouth. The others gasped as well. The Klefki’s face and the top half of his keyring had vanished behind the wound of her sword, and even Sophitia was so shocked she froze.

“H-he’s supposed to be steel type. He shouldn’t have gotten stabbed this easily.” She shuddered. She went quiet when Tetra’s giggling echoed around her, and a moment later, light particles gathered around her sword. His face and body reformed around her sword, locking her in place.

“Sike!” Tetra squealed, laughing at her. A Flash Cannon charged by his mouth, sending Sophitia into a panic, but she couldn’t move. Her sword was held so stiffly in his face it hurt, and it let him blast her point blank with his attack, sending her flying away again.

Phoenix was the next to take him on, ignoring his laughter at Sophitia’s pain. The Fennekin smothered him in Flamethrower, making the laughing Klefki vanish into a sea of flames. They cleared quickly, leaving behind only a part of his keyring. Just like Sophitia’s attack, his body reformed in an instant, setting him off laughing even more.

Esther’s electricity came next, turning his laughter into spastic gibberish. He shook as he was zapped hard by Thunderbolt, crying out when the attack exploded and he was shrouded in smoke. He came out of it with only his head intact, but he once again regenerated.

“Aw c’mon, what’s with this?” Esther cried.

“You guys didn’t believe me just because I’m a kid, didn’t you? Well kids don’t lie, you know. I was telling the truth when I said that I could battle like a god,” Tetra said as he jingled his keys again. “To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure how I would go about trying to kill someone like me, either. Even if you disintegrated me, I could come right back. Trust me, I’ve tried!”

“That’s absurd. The hell did Spirle do to you?” Esther said.

“Made me into their ultimate soldier. Well, one of them, anyway.”

“_One _of them?” Lute whispered and leaned back. Tetra glared at him, jingling with excitement.

“So what’re you gonna do, huh? You clods can’t touch me, but maybe Lute can. After all, he’s just like me,” Tetra said. “I wonder how much like me you are, though? If I blow off a limb, will it regenerate like mine?”

“You don’t have limbs!” Lute said.

“Oh yeah. That’s a shame. Can we fight now?”

Lute shuddered and shifted back. “_If the others can’t hurt him without him healing right back, what could I do?_”

Tetra’s face slowly shifted into one of innocent excitement, the kind when a child discovers a funfair for the first time. Lute struggled to focus back, dreading when that Klefki would decide to make a move. Whatever came, he wouldn’t know how to react to it. He couldn’t react to it. He wasn’t strong enough, and all of those special features that were being said about him, he didn’t know a thing about how to use them. As far as he knew, he was just a weak little boy who had been roped into this by expectant grownups.

“_No, I can’t think that. I just can’t think that,_” he gasped in his head, and shook himself off. He tried to focus on Tetra, but that face drove his eyes away. He wiped sweat from his face and took deep breaths through his mouth. “_Start with what you know, Lute. I actually made it to the Agents of King’s Shield. And Sophitia’s helping me to get stronger. I’m part of this fight. I have to try something._”

He gave a little roar and jumped up, forming Swift stars beneath his paws. Tetra didn’t move even after he threw them, taking the hits head on. They flashed as they blew up around the Klefki, but it only pushed him back a bit.

“_If that’s no effect, then I’ll try Quick Attack!_” he thought. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he sprung forward at high speed, darting left and right as he approached Tetra as if to throw off the Klefki’s moves. His opponent didn’t move however, still looking excited.

“Lute, wait don’t charge at him!” Sophitia cried as she returned to the fight. She had a huge wound in her side where the Flash Cannon hit.

Lute heard her, but all that did was put insecurity back into his heart. He didn’t slow, but that small moment of fear that his best wouldn’t be good enough took his focus from the attack. He crashed into Tetra with a cry, but to him, it felt like butting his head into a metal wall. Tetra didn’t move an inch from his attack, and for a moment, Lute caught a glimpse of his smile fading.

“_That did no damage either. Bite HAS to do something!_” Lute cried in worry. He twisted his body and kicked off Tetra, springing himself high into the air and falling down with fangs bared. Grey energy in the shape of a bear trap formed with the motion of his mouth, which clamped down on Tetra’s main key, his head.

But it all had no effect. Lute was left grinding against the steel of his keyring, and Tetra hadn’t even been shoved in a direction. Panic shot through the Eevee’s system and he jumped off, staggering away from the High Point with frantic breaths. His thoughts melted away into fear, fear that he was stood in front of a Pokémon who could probably kill him in a flash.

“Hey c’mon, get serious already! That can’t be the best you can do,” Tetra said.

“Lute!” Sophitia said. The others watched from a distance, teeth grinding in angst.

“Tha-that is!” Lute squeaked.

“Pardon?”

“That is! That’s the best I can do I swear,” he cried and hung his head. He was starting to cry, and kept blinking to try and stop himself. “I-I-I can’t do any other moves. I’m not any stronger than this. P-please, don’t hurt me!”

“Lute, get a hold of yourself!” Sophitia cried as she rushed over to him.

“Don’t hurt me? Don’t hurt me? Are you serious? After you did your absolute strongest on me?” Tetra said, laughing with increasing volume. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! Not only are you the disappointment of the century, you and I both know you’re not going to get very far with that logic. That just ain’t fair. You hit me with your best, so I’m gonna hit you with my best!”

“Get behind me!” Sophitia said as she stepped over Lute. She was just in time to stop Tetra’s sudden attack. He bounced and spun at high speed as he body began to glow like a disco ball. Magical lasers scattered from him and showered the world in blasts of light, but each hit was no match for Sophitia’s shield. It still had her growling and tensed up however, pinning Lute beneath her feet.

“Phoenix!” Esther gasped, spinning her body with her baton. The ribbon attached to it twirled around them both perfectly, creating a cone shaped barrier around them both that blocked the Dazzling Gleam. Before they knew it, the attack was over and they all came out from their shields.

“What’s happening to me? It’s Psychic, you knew Psychic?” Tetra wailed like a baby. He was outlined in a blue glow and his keyring was straining, rigid in place.

“Psychic? Am I using Psychic?” Lute gasped as he spun around.

“None of us here can use Psychic. It must be—” Sophitia choked. She slowly looked up, not surprised to see another Pokémon interrupting the battle.

A tall feline Pokémon that looked like it stood bipedal. They were floating above the battle with a single paw stretched forward, their nails elongated in threat. It was wearing a long, sunset coloured dress that flowed loosely with their release of psychic power, and beneath that, pristine white fur. The tips of its legs and arms were coated in a navy-blue fur, as well as a scarf-like wrapping of thicker fur around its neck and a bun on its head. It had two large tails and lengthy ears that were stretched up.

“Get out,” the Pokémon said coldly.

“Oh, were you a secret backup or something?” Tetra said. He screeched as his body shrivelled up a bit. For once, he actually sounded like he was in pain. “Okay okay I get it I get it please stop this is actually plain uncomfortable.”

“And us tearing your face off wasn’t?” Esther said.

“Nah. The pain of mutilation only lasts a second. But this, this is _agony_ make it stop ahahaha,” he wailed.

The Pokémon raised its arm and Tetra was pulled with it, and then he got slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a crater. Tetra got right up of course, but he wasn’t laughing. “I’ve had enough, anyway. It’s obvious that none of you have got anything I’m looking for. No one who’s strong enough to give me a real fight.”

Lute felt a sense of relief for a moment, but his heart skipped a beat when Tetra darted toward him. “But I’m reporting this! Of how undeveloped you really are. When you get better, I definitely want a bout with you. Don’t keep me waiting too long! And don’t bring any of your friends, either. They barely warmed me up!”

Tetra flew away after that, laughing aloud to himself. He flew at such a speed it was hard to believe what had just happened. Lute blinked and gawked, wanting to say something that wouldn’t give away his confusion. But looking at the others, they were still tense and concerned, glaring at the psychic Pokémon that was descending into a confrontation.

“That order was to all of you. Leave this place and never come back,” she said. Her voice was low and quiet.

“H-hold on, it isn’t what it looks like! That was a Spirle High Point, we’re the good guys!” Esther cried.

“I don’t care. Just leave this place before I make you,” the Pokémon said.

“Wow, what a way to talk to a celeb. Don’t you recognise Esther? I thought all the girls loved me.” Esther folded her arms. The Pokémon’s eyes did widen, but only for the briefest of moments.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. Just get out of here,” she raised her voice.

“Before we get into another fight, we’re in your debt. So if you like, live here or something, we’re happy to go, right guys?” Sophitia looked over at everyone. “You really saved our bacon there. Can we get a name, please?”

The Pokémon hesitated. “It’s Gen. I’m a Meowstic.”

“Thank you, Gen. Seriously, that was a pickle. Now come on guys, let’s get outta here. The High Point’s gone and we have Esther.”

“Whoa whoa hey, not like that!” Esther skipped forward.

“Esther—” Phoenix stuck a paw out. Gen eyed them coldly, and didn’t react even when Esther raised her paws to shake hands.

“You took us out of a pickle and your only ask is for us to leave you alone? That’s not nice, nor cool,” the Pikachu said. Gen still didn’t react. “Okay, I’ll get to the point. See, I’m kinda curious about this place and I wanna look around. I got an Agent of King’s Shield with me, so I should have authority, right? Hey Mister Fluffy Cheeks, get over here!”

“Er, Esther? We kinda just got out of that. Shouldn’t we all head back together?” Sophitia said.

“Head back where? To your home? Or the agent base?” Esther said, paws on her hips. “News flash: I don’t have a home, my manager’s in jail, and for the first time in months, I’ve had a decent meal. Let me make the most of it, will ya? I can live a little before I go back to your little celebrity ‘custody’.”

Lute and Sophitia gawked, not knowing how to respond until Phoenix stepped forward. “You two can head home. I will ensure that Esther remains safe. You’ll be contacted with a report soon.”

“Wait, seriously? That’s it?” Sophitia said.

“Ugh, stupid kids just- okay fine, do whatever you want. But if I see any structural damage, you _will_ pay for it. Understand?” Gen showed her fangs.

“Oh you bet! That first time was an honest accident. I’m soooooo nosy about this place, I just wanna look around.”

“Nothing here is any of your business. Whatever,” Gen said..

“We’ll keep everything neat and tidy, promise!” Esther said.

“It’s not that. It’s this place and what you’ve done to it.” Gen folded her arms.

“We can talk about this if you want.” Esther went half-lidded.

Gen gave it a moment of thought, looking over them all. “Stay the night. You also need to take care of that wound.”

“Me? N-no, I’m fine,” Sophitia said. Lute piped up a bit and looked at her, surprised to see the weight of the wound she’d taken during the battle. Even though she’d only been hit by special attacks, flesh was showing, and around that wound were darkened marks like she’d been burnt. She resisted the urge to touch it with a feeler, but her whole body was cringing anyway. She caught Lute worriedly staring, and frowned. “What? I’m fine, thank you very much.”

Lute looked away and growled. “No you’re not.”

“Urf. Okay, I _will_ be fine. That better?” she said. “And aren’t I the leader here? Between us two, anyway.”

“Yeah, this is more like it! We can all cool off and get to know each properly and stuff. It’ll be fun,” Esther said.

“Why isn’t Phoenix saying anything?” Lute sighed. “I hope Mum doesn’t freak out, either.”

“You’re an agent and you’re worrying about that? Marina will _have_ to understand, that’s even if we don’t tell her the full story,” Sophitia said.

Gen used her psychic to fly and lead the group without a word. Whatever Marina thought of him staying the night somewhere else was the least of his worries right now. If life was to carry on the way it was, he had far more to deal with about himself that needed to be done right away. And that would start with a serious talk with Sophitia.


	15. Aseria’s Ancient History

“Okay it’s not that I don’t appreciate the help, but do you _have_ to use the most painful healing method known to man?” Sophitia said, and then squealed out loud as her wound was rubbed and prodded. Gen the Meowstic had a spray bottle and a cloth to deal with the Sylveon’s open wound, and although Sophitia allowed her to work, she kept cringing hard with every touch.

“Do you want to get infected?” Gen said.

“Well no, but like, isn’t there a pain-free way to do this? Ow-eep!” She stifled a scream with a raised head. “You guys have all this scary technology like gondolas and automatic doors, but you couldn’t come up with something useful like a painless medicine?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Esther giggled at the scene. Phoenix sat in a corner and watched, while Lute was lost in thought in the middle of the room. After a few more squeaks and screams, Sophitia was bandaged up just below her chest, though she scratched at the bandages.

“Don’t pick at them. Stay like that for a day or two and you should be fine. And obviously, stay out of fights,” Gen said.

“Kinda tough when the agents probably have work for us. So er, Lute. What’re we doing about food?” Sophitia said, approaching him.

“Food?” Lute mumbled, half-paying attention.

“Yeah, food. I dunno about you, but I’m ready to pass out back here. And I assure you, blood loss has nothing to do with it,” she said. He blinked in thought, only now realising that they hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast. He certainly didn’t feel it until she mentioned it.

“Wonderful. Agents damage my ruins, crash my home, and now they don’t even have a plan to look after themselves. Why did I sign up for this?” Gen shook her head as she marched off into another room.

“U-uh, sorry. We didn’t mean it that way. We’ll sort something out,” Lute trailed off as Gen returned with a bowl of berries. The sight of them awakened his actual hunger, and he felt his stomach rumble. “U-um…”

“Help yourself. I’m pretty sure I overstocked anyway,” Gen said.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Esther said. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay ya back. Lady’s promise.”

“Wait, overstock? And you have these. You don’t really live here, do you?” Lute said, grabbing an Oran Berry.

“Yes. I do. I am a Pokémon who preserves history. So when Spirle members or petty criminals do their dirty work here like it’s some kind of abandoned location, I have to drive them out,” she said, playing with a Pecha Berry. “Ruins and history are important, but so many Pokémon nowadays have no respect for them. All you can think about is building new things and ‘advancing society’, but I believe none of you are actually thinking about that.”

“Thinking about it?” Sophitia said with a full mouth.

“Like you just said. You’re all happy to build stuff Pokémon don’t need like automatic doors or whatnot, and all without thinking about it,” Gen said. Her face became fierce as she spoke, and her paws were tightening, digging into the berry. “You’re happy to erase history like it never happened. Too quick are Pokémon to convert to things they don’t fully understand. No matter what, I won’t let a single Pokémon touch this country.”

“Well if you wanna protect this place, then I’ll make sure I don’t touch anything,” Esther said. “Seriously, before was an accident. I really wanna look around ‘cos I’m super interested in this place, but once I’m done, I’ll be outta here.”

“But why do you want to protect this place? It’s clearly seen better days,” Lute said. He flinched when Gen gave him a look. “I-I don’t mean that to be rude or anything. I can understand appreciating history, my teacher at school is like this, too. But choosing to live in a place like this, driving out intruders, there has to be a big reason.”

Gen stared at him until he looked away, and then sighed. “This place is Angard, an integral part of Aserian history. The country of Angard thrived off technology that was decades ahead of what we currently have. But with the power-hungry nature of the world at hand, it was forced into war and erased from the atlas.”

“This place was destroyed by Pokémon? Who and why?” Lute said.

“I told you. For its technology. It was ruthlessly drained of all life and turned into the fragile wasteland you see before you,” Gen closed her paws into fists. “I won’t let the modern world just forget its mistake. And so I will protect these ruins. For as long as I live, Angard will remain as a scar in our planet, a scar of the Pokémon’s sins.”

“_A scar of the Pokémon’s sins,_” Lute repeated to himself, sneaking a glance at the interested Sophitia. She didn’t look like she had any objections to what was being said, even though they were the generation of Pokémon this Meowstic was talking about. Or maybe she wasn’t directly talking about them. He didn’t want to ask in case of angering her any further.

Despite what they’d talked about over food and their intrusion, Gen allowed the group to stay the whole night. Her home stood out in the dead lands of Angard as a giant tree stump, surprisingly functional as a habitat even for what Lute was used to. It had spacious rooms, warmth, and makeshift furniture that made room for storage, beds, and all else. The five of them were able to split up to sleep in three separate rooms the whole night, and in Lute and Sophitia’s case, their room even had a window.

Well, he thought everything would be alright. Past midnight, the two were still awake, staring at the single bed in their room. He knew exactly what the problem was and didn’t want to say anything, but he didn’t want to rush for it and look like a child, either.

“So uh, how’re we doin’ this? Heads or tails?” Sophitia snickered.

“Why does she even have multiple rooms if one of those rooms only has one bed?” Lute hung his head. “Forget it. You need it more. You’re the one who’s bandaged.”

“Oh, how gentlemanly of you. I’ll gladly accept,” She skipped over to plonk herself down on it. “You er… gonna be okay there?”

“We don’t really have a choice,” he said as he settled down. He immediately regretted it, realising that the stump’s bumpy floor made for the worst possible place to sleep. He had a cushion at least, so he’d figure something out.

“There’s enough space for both of us,” Sophitia said quietly.

“H-huh?”

“Look I’m just giving you a choice to not sleep on the floor. Take it or leave it,.” She looked away. It looked like she had the slightest hint of a blush for a moment, but the thought only made his own face red.

“No. I can’t be that useless, too. Don’t worry about it,” he said, and turned away. He slapped his head on the cushion and forced his eyes shut. “Goodnight, Sophitia.”

There was a pause. “Useless?”

Another pause. The word began to repeat itself in his head, and he growled. “Yeah. Useless.”

“What’s so useless about not sleeping on the floor? Everybody needs to sleep in a bed,” she said.

He growled harder. “That’s not what I mean. I just- never mind.”

There was quiet again, enough for him to hear her shuffling a little bit. He couldn’t tell what she was doing until he felt the light touches of her feelers wrap around him, and all so suddenly that he twitched hard. He kicked his feet as he was picked up and brought over to her side, where he was surprised to meet a warm smile. “S-Sophitia, wha-what’re you doing?”

“I can sense emotions silly, remember? So whatever’s ailing you, I can feel it too, kinda,” she said, and playfully brushed his nose. She pulled the covers up to his neck and slid back so that she was under them as well, although she had to coil her body a bit. “I can’t force you to talk about it or anything. But if the company helps, I don’t mind, okay? That’s all I’m saying.”

“So-Sophitia—” he mouthed as he tensed up. Being this close to her, the familiar vibes he felt with Infia were all coming out. He couldn’t stop himself from screwing up his face or his cheeks from turning red, and the fear of making any embarrassing mistakes stopped him from moving entirely. He gulped and snuck at glance at her anyway, hoping she wasn’t watching his eyes.

Sophitia was curled around him like a parent. Her hind legs cushioned his, while her front legs were settled near his mane, possibly an inch or two from an intimate cuddle. He was so close he could see her chest moving from her relaxed breathing. He couldn’t understand why she wasn’t as nervous as he was right now, or maybe her soft curves were hiding her tenseness.

He almost stopped breathing for a moment. He always thought of Sophitia as strong, but he never realised how strong she looked until now. She wasn’t small and skinny like he was, but she wasn’t exactly as chubby as he initially thought, either. She was actually rather built, but her soft appearance on top of that muscle gave her body a look that he couldn’t not describe as attractive. He thought that until he got to the bandages around her chest, and his heart sunk.

“It’s my fault you got hurt. It’s my fault you got hurt again, and this time, this badly,” he said.

“Huh?” she said, and glanced at the bandage. “Oh, this? That’s literally my fault for not paying attention. Let alone getting hit with super effective twice.”

“It’s not. You don’t have to butter it up.” He hopped off the bed. He looked up out the window, not seeing anything but black sky. “I’m a member of the Agents of King’s Shield now, just like I always wanted to be. But it’s way harder than I ever imagined it’d be, and because of that, I’m seeing how weak and useless I really am.”

“You’re not weak and useless. Why do you suddenly feel that way?”

“Suddenly? This isn’t sudden, it’s every time.” He shook himself. “You’re always having to tell me off for giving stuff away to the High Points. I wasn’t able to damage the Risen at all. Not the ones at the Ministry of Science, or the ones at the Radial Castle. Victor beat me like nothing, and against Tetra, I couldn’t even damage him.”

“To be fair, nobody could damage Victor.”

“Yes they could. Everyone’s attacks forced him to regenerate his body but mine. And yours are not very effective! That’s just how weak I really am. If I wasn’t here slowing you down, you wouldn’t be getting hurt like this.”

She stood up and stared at him. “So, what’re you going to do about it?”

He shuddered. “Are you going to wallow in depressive thoughts like that, or are you going to work on actually getting strong enough to follow your dream?”

He took in a breath, raising his head to hold back tears. “I want to say the latter, but I—”

“Then do that. Find your way of getting stronger, and take your time doing it,” she said. He breathed out and glanced back, surprised to see her smiling. “Hey, what kinda team leader would I be if I wasn’t supportive? I know I said about getting good at battles and learning lots of moves and stuff before, but maybe that’s not your thing, you know? You gotta get strong in your way. The real way.”

He looked down, to avoid eye-contact. “You’ll wait for me?”

“I’ll walk with you, wherever I can. That’s what friends do. Plus, if you wanna put a value on it, I do sorta owe you for convincing Marina to take me in and stuff,” she said. That made him look up at her, and he gulped again. “Just think how this could’ve gone if you weren’t such a nice person. And if you weren’t so determined, what would’ve happened to Infia?”

“That was you, though,” he said.

“What, jumping off the roof to save her? Skipping out on school? Shouting at a guy as scary as Phoenix? When I think about it, you’ve definitely got strength where I don’t—”

“No I don’t! Stop it, you don’t have to be nice to me just because of all that,” he raised his voice and turned his back. “You don’t understand. I want to be a hero. I want to fight. I want to save Pokémon like you and Infia, yet whenever something comes up, my body just… weakens. I panic, I try even though I panic, and nothing comes from it. I’m just too weak.”

Sophitia went quiet. “There’s nothing I can say that’ll make you think otherwise, is there?”

“It’s not about thinking otherwise, it’s about what’s actually happening.”

She grumbled something and shuffled back into bed, which for some reason only made him feel guilty. He wanted her to retort with something supportive again, but she didn’t say anything, not even goodnight. Believing it would be worse if he said goodnight instead, he gulped and settled back into the cushion, curling up to try and rest his whole body on it. It was barely any better than the floor – tonight would be a long night.

Morning came before he knew it. Without the usual sunlight or homely sounds to wake him, Lute passed out deeper than he ever knew he could. He was woken up by Esther of all Pokémon, who shocked him awake after shaking him for a good five minutes.

He didn’t know whether to say he slept well or horribly. Either way, stretching hurt, and every noise irked his head enough to groan at. Knowing he was an unwelcome guest though, he put up with it and behaved as conveniently as he could. He was worried about not having a proper bath, but with everyone in the same position, they didn’t seem to mind.

“I gave a report to Silver last night. She called this morning and requested your presence.” Phoenix greeted them at the front of the stump. Lute groaned again, not at the blunt greeting, but that the sky was still totally black. If it was morning, it certainly didn’t feel like it.

“Did she say what she wanted?” Sophitia said.

“No. Usually, missions and reports shouldn’t be given over a video call, only face to face,” he said. “Last night was an exception because of the circumstances. You should make your way over there immediately.”

“Great, that means we’re in trouble,” Sophitia sighed.

“It’ll take a while to get back, too,” Lute said.

“You two can do that thing where you travel through Deposit Boxes, can’t you?” Gen said, folding her paws.

“Wa-wah! Were you listening?” Sophitia jumped.

“You don’t need to hide stuff like that from me, I know all about the agents. I have a Deposit Box behind the house, but I hacked it to stop them from locating it. To them, there aren’t any boxes here,” she said, showing them to the back of the stump. There it was, the familiar purple chest. “Don’t go telling anyone this is here. And when you leave, don’t even think about coming back here through this box. Do you understand?”

“O-of course! It’s all to keep Pokémon out and stuff, right? We won’t tell anyone, Miss Gen.” Lute bowed.

“That’s Mrs. to you. But forget it, call me Gen,” she said, looking away. Lute gawked a sound, not replying.

“Hey uh, if we’re keeping secrets and stuff, could you do me a solid and not tell the bigups where I am, too? Last thing I want is Pokémon like that Goodra worryin’ about me too,” Esther said.

“That’s already been dealt with. They know you’re in my care,” Phoenix said.

“In your care? Yeesh, I always gotta belong to some guy, huh?” she said, rolling her eyes. “Whatever works, I guess. But I’ll see you later, Lute, Sophitia! Let’s meetup sometime. I still owe you guys big time, too.”

She waved and skipped away before Lute could reply. He watched her run off on all fours until Sophitia nudged him. “Look at you go. You’re gettin’ all the pretty ladies.”

“That’s not- okay no, we’re not going there,” he said, activating the Deposit Box. She laughed aloud and followed, disappearing into the box in a flash.

Gen stared at the box even after it locked itself and folded her arms. “Damn it Kuri. What’ve you done now?”

…

“Silver,” Lute said, wary as they stepped into the main room. The Goodra met them by the metal platform in the corner of the room. He was immediately drawn to it, remembering that it was the teleporter to Moand Dia.

“I heard about what happened with Phoenix. I wish I wasn’t bringing you here on circumstances like this. Are the two of you alright?” Silver said, one hand on her other arm.

“Why? What’ve you got planned?” Sophitia said.

Silver cleared her throat. “Do you remember the world inside the planet, Moand Dia? We’ve come to the conclusion that we need your help to properly explore it. We’ve come up with a plan to do so.”

Lute’s face went straight and his heart sunk. Exploring a place like that was all his dreams coming true, but he also had to accept that he wasn’t ready for it. With Sophitia bandaged and him so weak, he wasn’t sure if they would survive another fight.

“I-if you want us to explore, I don’t think we can,” he said quietly. Sophitia gasped.

“Are you concerned about Sophitia’s wound? Won’t you go on your own?” Silver said, and Lute beamed up a bit.

“I—” he raised a paw, but put it down shortly after. He didn’t know what to say, uttering instead.

“Oh no, _this_ one’s not happening. We’re perfectly fine, Silver,” Sophitia said. “If you want the finer details, we probably smell or something. Didn’t have access to a bath this morning.”

“I noticed. But it doesn’t matter.” Silver turned to a computer screen. A Breloom operating it touched a few things on the screen, and an atlas-like layout showed up on it. “We’ve managed to scan the region we currently have access to. We only need you to explore one section. That section is beyond our scan radius, but if you can setup computers there, we can expand our scan radius and figure out more of it. You won’t need to be down there long. Think of it more of a test mission to see exactly how an exploration of this place will go.”

“What exactly do you need us to do? I’m not very good at working computers, to be honest,” Sophitia said. Silver handed her a small ball split in half by a black line, with the top half red and the bottom half white.

“This is a storage capsule device. If you press the button, everything inside will come out. All the equipment we need to scan Moand Dia is already set up and constructed inside. So what you do is find an open area, then throw the ball into it, and then switch on the computer. That will be all,” she said. Sophitia eyed the ball and brushed a feeler over the button. “Press the button now and you’ll probably destroy this room. So don’t even think about it.”

She flinched and promptly slipped it into her belongings. “R-right. We can do that.”

Lute’s conflict was driving him so crazy inside that all he could do was shudder. He knew exactly what Sophitia was doing, knew what he had to do, and yet was also so wary of what he was getting into that he could only foresee disaster. Yet he didn’t say a thing, speechless at the Sylveon’s confident, smiling responses as Silver continued to detail procedures and precautions.

For the first time since all of this started, he was distracted. All he could think about was the possibility of either of them getting killed and him not being able to do anything about it. Right here and now, he could recall the scene so clearly in his head. Sophitia shouting at him and then getting torn apart by the blast of an attack from a powerful Pokémon.

“Now go. And no matter what happens, stay together and do not engage in combat with any unknown life forms. If you come across one, add it to your report and retreat. Do I make myself clear?” Silver said.

“You have our word. Lute?” Sophitia replied. He shook his head, brought back to reality just then. He actually felt relief that she was okay, even though it was just him daydreaming.

“I… yes. Understood,” he said. Silver stared right back, not blinking once.

“Wake up, silly! You were supposed to be hyped about this,” Sophitia giggled. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“It’s actually you that’s in surprisingly cooperative spirits,” he said with a groan. He had to be dragged along to the platform. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I dunno! I’m just feeling real good and giddy lately. Guess I’m starting to see your appeal in exploring places.” She crossed her feelers. She swiped them aside quickly, and that activated the platform, whisking them away in a flash of bubbly lights. Silver gasped, and then a moment later pushed aside the Breloom on the computer.

“You really need to stop doing that,” he groaned.

Lute gasped when they landed, gawking at his rambling partner. She didn’t seem to notice what she had just done at all. “I mean, when I think about it real hard, it’s amazing that we’re like, the super special Pokémon who can freely go about this place.”

“Sophitia—”

“Okay there’s nothing here and it’s sorta empty, but that’s what’s exciting about it, right? Nobody knows anything about this place, this mysterious world inside of Aseria. But soon enough, we’ll be the only ones that know about it. We’re so privileged!” she said as she jogged away.

“Sophitia—”

“And just thinking about that one, too. A world _inside_ of the planet. Just look around you, this is nowhere near what I expected inside the planet to look like. All this golden sand, green water, and the fact that there’s even a sky down here. Ah, now that we’re not here and running on fumes, I’m like, super excited to look around!”

“Sophitia!” Silver’s voice boomed so loud the duo cringed.

“Wah! S-Silver, where, how did?” Sophitia gasped. She scrambled through her belongings and pulled out her badge, which was glowing.

“How did you activate the teleportal?” Silver’s voice boomed.

“Huh?”

“The teleportal! The silver thing we use to get to Moand Dia. Only the computer can activate that, and remotely. How did you just do it? No one here touched anything!”

Sophitia’s face was blank. “Sophitia!”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you. I just saw you do that. How?” Lute gasped.

“I… I-I dunno. I dunno what to tell you, it just sorta came naturally to me. I guess I just, tripped something? Maybe?”

“Or maybe,” Lute breathed out, a wide smile growing on his face. “Maybe this place has something to do with your missing memories?

“That’s impossible. I’m just a normal Sylveon, like I told you. Unless you count the blue fur and all that.” She looked away.

“We definitely have to look around, now. Something, anything, if you can remember _anything_ at all,” Lute said. She wanted to argue with him, but seeing his revived look of determination brought a heartfelt smile to her face. That innocent excitement she liked him for was back.

“You two, listen to me for a moment,” Silver said, turning the call into a video call. Her face was intense. “I wasn’t going to do this, especially when I saw the bandage, but we have a big opportunity that we can’t afford to pass up thanks to this discovery.”

“Oh? Go on?” Sophitia said.

“This teleportal was actually already here, long before we built the base around it. Lassic figured out how to get it to work by dissecting it and seeing that it had similar programming to the warp mechanics of the Deposit Box. However, these portals were pre-set to locations in Moand Dia. Fast forward to our predicament with the atmosphere of this place, and we couldn’t explore it properly,” Silver said. She slammed her hands on the table. “Our past expeditions uncovered another teleportal deep in a cave to the west. Obviously, we’ve been unable to use it because we can’t connect our machines to it. But if Sophitia can use it without our machines, you can get further into Moand Dia. Further than we intended to a few minutes ago!”

“What’re we waiting for!” Lute said, bouncing.

“Precautions, of course. You’ll be going into the complete unknown. Everything from that other teleportal onward, we have no idea what to expect from there. But your main objective remains the same: find an open space, open the capsule, turn on the computer and then return.”

“We can still do that. It’s just a lot more exciting now. And it was already pretty exciting,” Sophitia said. “Which way, Silver?”

“The first teleportal is in a cave to the west. It’s next to a waterfall.”

“Then we have our path. Let’s go.” Sophitia nodded.

Lute walked quickly, but only enough so that he walked alongside Sophitia. He wanted to feel like he was leading the way this time. This wasn’t about him, but about Sophitia. He knew he wasn’t ready for another dangerous fight, but if he could be useful in helping Sophitia recover her memories, then he’d have the very usefulness that she suggested he find. After all, this was something he always wanted to do since she joined him.

He thought about it as they walked, making him quiet and focused. Of all the hints at her past that could have come up, having a connection to Moand Dia and the teleportals wasn’t anything he expected. He was right on the money in being convinced she was special – her walking across water, magical shield and sword attack, and now this. She had to have been feeling shy when she was trying to tell him she was an ordinary shiny Sylveon, and that thought made him smile a bit.

Silver’s directions took them along a cliffside and towards a river of clean, green water. To their left was a dark, gaping cave, while the right was an enormous waterfall leading so far down that the bottom couldn’t be seen. He had to stop for a moment to recall it, but this was the area they had woken up in when they first fell down here.

“It’s over here?” Sophitia said, wary as she headed deeper into the cave. Their vision darkened as they proceeded, but the mystical gold of the sky outside kept everything lit enough. Her feelers brushed the sandy walls to act as a scout for anything they couldn’t see as they trod deeper in. Even as the exit shrunk into the distance behind them, the ground remained grainy and sparkly.

Lute’s focus began to melt into uncertainty as darkness shrouded him all around. The only noises breaking the silence was the shifting of their feet and the steady sloshing of the river beside them. There not being any feral Pokémon around was all the more reason for him to suspect that some would jump them at any moment. It made him sick in his stomach, being that horrible reminder of what he was stepping into.

“It’s a slope,” Sophitia said. He shook his head, realising she was right. He was concentrating on his thoughts so hard he wasn’t actually looking around. Now that he was, he realised how deep in they’d gone. The area was awfully dim and the floor sloped so deep it went underwater. He flinched back the moment he felt the splash of it, and his heart sped up.

“Ah, did we pass it? I didn’t see the platform at all,” he said, looking back. The ceiling descended with the floor, meaning that in order to progress, they would need to dive.

“Silver, the path goes underwater here. How far in is the teleportal?” Sophitia said.

“The reports say it’s at the very back of the cave. The layout of our map doesn’t indicate anything underwater, though. It sounds like the terrain has changed,” Silver said. Her voice having an uncertain tone for once made Lute tense up.

He stared at the way forward again, then the path behind him, and then nodded. “Okay. We’ll see how far we can go.”

“Re-really? We’re diving?” Sophitia said, an awkward smile on her face. “I’m not a very good swimmer.”

“If the original path didn’t go underwater, then that means we won’t be under for very long. I can go first if you want,” he said.

“Oh no you don’t, you’re not showing me up. Besides, you need me to activate the warp,” she said. They both turned to the green water, Lute gulping. “Hey, if you’re too tense, you won’t be able to hold your breath for very long. Keep it together.”

“I-I know,” he said. He took a few breaths to try and steady himself. Although he felt a little lighter, he couldn’t stop his heart from feeling heavy. Not due to fear of drowning, but because his focus was beginning to falter. He had to do this in order to be useful, and he had to do it well.

Both Eeveelutions took deep breaths and jumped in together, eyes shut upon entry. Lute was first to open, immediately relieved to find his deduction correct. The path sloped down for a little while, and then went right back up above the surface a short way ahead.

What he didn’t account for was that this was river water. He only paddled for a few seconds before he found himself spinning totally out of balance, and moaned as loud as he could to alert Sophitia. The river pulled him away from the path and down the stream to the right, but her feelers caught and pulled him back before he was truly lost. The only way he could thank her was a nod, and then they were on their way.

The current also meant that they would be under for longer than they anticipated. He kept telling himself he was fine as he was cradled beneath Sophitia, but by the time they reached halfway, his chest began to tighten. With his air running thin, he shuffled to look around, and then resorted to trying to help her swim faster.  
Half a minute later and it began to hurt. He had to shut his eyes to resist the urge to breathe through his nose, and his chest felt like it was being set alight. He let out a desperate moan as best as he could, and the few bubbles leaking from him caught Sophitia’s attention.

“You okay?” she said, letting go of him for a brief moment. The instant she did, he shot for the surface, leaving her to follow in surprise. She found him coughing and splashing at the surface like he was dying, and pulled him onto her back as she casually surfaced.

“Ah… hah… tha-that was close,” he said.

“Er, you okay there, Lute? We’re probably gonna have to come back this way, you know,” she said.

“H-how? You talked underwater and you were fine? Are you okay?” he gasped.

“I’m right as rain, I had plenty of air. It’s you that nearly drowned. You okay?” she said.

He gave her a look up and down, his mouth agape. “Ye-yes. The current will help push us back, so won’t have to hold our breath as long on the way back.”

“That’s true. But hey, look. We found that teleportal. Now for the moment of truth?” she said. Lute squinted, but that only put water in his eyes. Even after shaking himself off, this room was barely lit by the glow of the platform. It looked exactly like the one in the agent base.

“Just a moment, you two. Just to remind you that we don’t know for sure what will happen when you transport. We don’t know what’s waiting on the other side of that, and we will probably lose contact with you until you activate that computer,” Silver said. “Please, do not do anything rash.”

Lute gulped again. Anything could happen. He finally knew the fear of that. He wanted it to excite him, but it only drowned him in fear instead. He shut his eyes, breathed deeply through his nose, and then joined Sophitia on the teleportal. He took note of the platform’s wet surface, realising that the river water was high enough here cover the portal. The floor was sloping around the portal.

“We’ll be careful.” Sophitia shut off the call. She crossed her feelers, tensed up, then unfurled them and got the same result as before. The teleportal activated, and they disappeared in a flash.

The instant they landed on solid ground; the first thing he did was jump in front of Sophitia to stand guard. But it was needless as they landed in the middle of another cave, empty and devoid of immediate presence. It was noticeably colder than where they just were, but it was thematically similar. Rock walls with a glittery, turquoise dust filtering off them, shiny rocks across the ceiling, and catacombs all around them.

“I’m breathing fine,” Lute said as he tested the ground beneath the teleportal. It was solid, but as cold as ice. “We’re probably going to need warm clothes or something to look around here. It’s so cold.”

He turned back to find Sophitia trembling. She was sweating, tensed up more than he had ever seen her, even though she was just staring forward. “Sophitia?”

“Shh.”

“Huh?” Lute said, and glanced side to side. Nothing. “Is something wrong? Are you rememberi—”

“Shh, shut up!” she said. “Can’t you hear that?”

Lute shut his eyes and listened, more afraid of her actions now than what she was probably afraid of. It took a moment, but he began to hear footsteps. Slow, heavy steps on the stone floor that faintly echoed throughout the cave. It was getting louder at a pace that didn’t match the rhythm of the steps, either. Whoever it was, they were taking huge strides towards them.

“Holy son of a—” Sophitia whispered, becoming frantic. Before Lute could say a word, she pulled him onto her back by his neck and jumped into a corner of the room, revealing there was an unforeseen ditch behind them. Lute cried out when he realised that the ditch had no bottom, but Sophitia stopped them from falling by jamming her magic sword directly into the rock. It ripped through the cliff a few metres, leaving them hanging above abyss just below the surface of the main floor.

“S-S-Sophitia, the heck are you—”

“Shh! Someone _really_ powerful is coming. Like, I can’t even—” she said, cutting herself off when the footsteps came closer. Whoever it was, they were right there in the room now. Seeing her face and hearing her voice, Lute became just as tense as she was now and grit his fangs.

There they waited, holding their breaths as they hung above a cliff by the grip of a sword. Having to stay so still was unbearably uncomfortable, and the cold quickly caught up to them. Lute felt his nose running and his body shivering, but dared to do any more than cling to his Sylveon partner.

The steps implied they were patrolling the room. No breathing, no words, no noise besides the slow, heavy patters of steps echoing across the walls. Being this close, Lute couldn’t tell whether they were approaching this cliff or not. He half expected the figure to show up, a terrifying Pokémon looming above them that would attack on sight, sending them to their deaths. The thought made him puff out a breath, and he started to whimper.

“Lute,” Sophitia whispered.

It was no good. He couldn’t get that possibility out of his head. This super powerful Pokémon that had Sophitia freaking out was going to find them, he would fail in another fight, and they would both die for sure. He was hyperventilating and his grip on her was tightening to the point of pinching, to which she cringed. Every breath came out as a pathetic whine at increasing volume, only furthering their chances of being detected.

Sophitia was quick, though. She adjusted her feelers to cover his mouth, gritting her fangs to resist his grip. Thankfully she didn’t have to keep this up for much longer as the steps began to fade, implying the Pokémon was leaving. Before they had fully left, she hissed and pulled herself up from the cliff, having to catch her breath for a moment. Lute rolled off her behind the teleportal, but was first to hop up and peek over it.

There had been another Pokémon searching the room. But contrary to his imagination, that Pokémon was no greater than another Eevee. They were fading into the distance, but their tail and ears gave it away. Their steps were still giving off the sound as well, making him certain.

“It was just… an Eevee?” Lute whispered and wiped his eyes. He hadn’t realised he was crying, and wiped his eyes. A grunt from Sophitia caught his attention. She was wrenching on the floor, looking like she wanted to scream. It became obvious why when she turned, revealing her bandages were turning red. “Your wound! But how?”

“Shh, they’re not gone yet,” she hissed as she pulled him out of view. She was breathing in agony, bringing him to the bottom of the guilt barrel. He realised that the only thing that could’ve opened that wound was the way he had been squeezing her just now. She sat back and cradled it with two feelers and staggering breath, eventually able to lean back and relax a bit. “Thank goodness Gen gave me this.”

“S-Sophitia…”

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Just a bit of a shock, that’s all,” she said. She peeked over the teleportal, but the Eevee was gone. “Alright. This room is big enough. Let’s get to work.”

“But your wou—”

“This was our mission, and we’ve done it. Do you remember Silver’s warnings?” she said. “I sensed that Pokémon from so far away. I’ve never felt such overwhelming power before. And they were just an Eevee? Moand Dia must have some terrifying secrets.”

“I…” was all Lute could mutter. He watched the Sylveon struggle to her feet and reveal the storage ball, not wanting to move at all, now. He could try to help her, but he would probably mess that up, too. Guilty and pathetic was an understatement.

“Let’s turn the computer on and get outta here before he comes back,” she said, pressing the button and throwing the ball.


	16. Crisis of the Seasons

Grounded. After all that had happened, Lute had managed to forget that recent events all stemmed from his sudden bolting out of school. That, followed by a night away from home into an agent mission, left Mum and his friends in absolute terror. To say that he and Sophitia got a talking to was putting it mildly.

This did let the next few days pass by contently, however. After the drama his absence caused had been talked about, everything settled back into usual routine for him. Eventful school days and banter-filled mornings replaced his worries about getting stronger, if only because he now had too much work to do than to worry about whatever King’s Shield wanted him to do for them. Either way, they didn’t call him once.

Then the weekend came…

“Yes, he’s not allowed out after that whole event. But I’m not going to turn you away Infia, you know that.” Marina welcomed the Minun into the house. “Have you been feeling alright?”

“I’m okay. It’s… nicer being back at school. Cinder and Raiju have been visiting, too,” she said, playing with her paws.

“That’s good. And should you ever need the company too, don’t hesitate to come by. I promise you, there’s always space for you here.” Marina smiled. Infia blushed and bowed, and then made her way to Lute’s room. She found him and Sophitia deep in an argument about something, presumably homework due to the scroll of paper she spotted on the floor. Sophitia’s bandages were off and her wound had healed, although there was still a mark of darkened fur where she’d been hit.

“I’m telling you; the attack is called Last Resort. I can’t believe you’re mixing it up with Selfdestruct,” Sophitia said.

“It’s an attack seen as a last-ditch effort, that’s what the paper says,” Lute said, stamping on it. “Considering what Selfdestruct does, it’s an easy last option. It’s such an obvious mix up,” Sophitia said.

“It’s what the book says, and Anbi said to go by the book. It has to be Selfdestruct,” Lute said.

“Oh my gosh, are we reading the same book here? It also says that Eeveelutions can do it. Do we _look_ like we can explode into a million pieces?” Sophitia raised her voice

“Well you probably could if you tried, what with the way you eat,” he said.

“Oh what, are we leading toward another fat comment? Whatever, it’s Last Resort!” She shouted.

“Um,” Infia spoke up, and they both froze.

“Infia! I-I didn’t see you come in.” Lute hopped to his feet. He went right up to her and held her paws in his. “H-hi. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“He-hello. I just… got a bit lonely this morning, and I knew you were at home this weekend, so,” she said, looking away. They stayed there for a bit, still holding each other’s paws. “Yo-you’re still wearing the necklace I gave you.”

“Oh, yeah. I did say I’d treasure it. Been keeping it clean, too,” he snickered.

“So hey, why don’t we let Infia decide our take on it, then?” Sophitia pointed to the paper.

“Oh, the battle practice homework,” Infia muttered.

“Yeah. This dolt thinks Eevee can explode. Meanwhile, I’m trying to tell him it’s Last Resort. Only every Eeveelution can do it,” she said.

Infia’s face was straight, but a confused kind of straight. “It is Last Resort for that question, isn’t it? The only way Eeveelutions could do Selfdestruct is through Mimic. I don’t even know if they can use it.”

“See? Nyeh.” Sophitia stuck her tongue out at him. “Who’s the battler here, remind me?”

“If we’re wrong, it’s your fault, not Infia’s,” he said, writing it down. He had to write it in footprint runes, pressing a paw into a tray of ink and then making a pattern of his pawprints on the paper. Once done, he rolled it up and cleaned his paw in another tray of water. “But that’s that done. I’m not doing any other homework while we have guests.”

“Of course,” Sophitia said, a smug look on her face. “Should I leave you two alone?”

“Aren’t you grounded, too?” Infia said.

“Really Sophitia? You’re still doing _that_?” Lute groaned.

“If you’re gonna make chub jokes, then I’m gonna make wuv jokes. That’s the deal you made,” she said, still smug.

“I didn’t make a deal over this!” he cried.

Infia couldn’t help but giggle as they started bickering again, and settled down on a cushion. That was until Marina came into the room and everyone silenced thanks to the troubled look on her face. “Erm, Lute? Sophitia? You er… just come to the front room, please.”

The trio exchanged nervous glances and followed, immediately coming to a halt upon entry. Esther and Phoenix were by the front door, and the Pikachu piped up and bounced over the moment they came into view.

“Esther?” Lute gasped.

“It’s true, you do live in Everend! For some reason, I really thought that’d be like, some sorta special alias to hide your identity or something. You’re way too special to live in a bumpkin town like this,” she said, and laughed as she held up his paws.

“Uh.” Was all he could respond with.

“So, aren’t you happy to see me?” she said, half-lidded. He didn’t know how to answer, and phoenix’s blank expression behind her didn’t help. “Hee hee hee, you look so confused!”

“Well yeah, you of all Pokémon showing up is sorta?” Sophitia trailed off. She brushed a feeler between them to get Esther to let go of him. “Dare I ask? Did something happen with you-know-who?”

“Uh uh. Somethin’ _much_ cooler happened, or is about to happen. And the lil’ Minun cutie’s here, too. Perfect!” she cheered, and pumped her fists at Phoenix. Infia gasped and tried to hide herself from view behind Lute. “It’s like I told ya Fluffy Cheeks, it’s fate. It’s gotta be cruel fate!”

“Cruel fate?” Lute said.

“Okay, so get this. We looked around Angard for a while ‘cos there was so much to see. And we found this crater, and inside the crater was this magic stage. It’s like a silver platform kinda thing. It was nothing like anything else in that dead country,” she said, waving her arms about.

“That sounds like a teleportal. If it is, what’s that doing there?” Lute glanced at Sophitia who had raised an eyebrow as well.

“Not gonna ask what a teleportal is yet. But on that stage, we found, da duuun!” Esther said, throwing her arms up. Out came a tiny Pokémon barely any bigger than Lute’s nose, an insect that fluttered around before stopping in front of them. “Check it out! It’s our legendary guide.”

“Hey I have a name!” the Pokémon said. Despite its absurdly small size, its voice was loud, clear, and squeaky. “It’s Naivie. Naivie the Carbink. You’re Lute, right? Lute Aska Violets?”

“Ah— that name.” Lute shifted back. Sophitia snuck a look at him. “It’s er, why do you need them?”

“Don’t play coy, I’m not dangerous. Can a little old sprite like me really harm you?”

“I don’t really want to risk that one.” He turned away.

“Ah, don’t be like that!” Naivie said. Unlike ordinary Carbink, her little wing-like ears let her stay afloat so well that she could circle him with ease. “Like the pretty Pika says, you and your strongest allies have got a fate to fulfil. Won’t you hear me out?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” he groaned.

“No. You really don’t,” she said.

Lute didn’t make a sound.

“In my time, the Pokémon of the world paid their respects and took care of these giant flowers in Aseria’s most important corners. In exchange, the flowers granted Pokémon their powers, and allowed nature to cycle through its seasons. But thanks to a horrible war, those flowers withered, and the seeds they gave us were seen as our final test,” Naivie said. She steadily floated around everyone as she told her story, and Lute and Sophitia exchanged angst filled looks.

“A horrible war? Could Angard have something to do with that?” Esther said.

“Definitely, that’s why you found me there? But let me finish, because all hope isn’t lost. If Pokémon can plant those seeds in the correct places and give them the respect they deserve, we can grow the flowers again. The weather can return to normal. The Pokémon that can do this are you guys! I know it for sure. I am your guide and messenger from the past who is to ensure that you succeed,” Naivie said.

“It’s vague, but that sounds an awful lot like,” Lute said=.

“Florrie and Floette?” Naivie fluttered up to him.

“You’re one of them. The guardian fairies. So they were telling the truth after all,” Lute said, suddenly looking away. “Are you sure you’re looking for me and not Sophitia?”

“I was looking for _all_ of you, but you’re the central child in all of this. And because you’re a kid, I’m taking care of the great flower seeds and stuff, okay? You’ll just have to trust me when I say that I’ve got them all. I can show you exactly where to put them, too,” Naivie said. “So go on! Pack your things and get ready for a journey. The lot of us, we’re gonna save the world!”

“Yes, I knew we hit the jackpot. This is perfect,” Esther cheered.

“Hold on,” Lute said. All eyes on him made him hesitate, and he shifted backward.

“Wait a minute, you’re not going to,” Sophitia said. He gulped and looked away, and she got angry. “Are you serious, Lute? Not this again.”

“Yes this again. I can’t possibly be the Pokémon for this.”

“You’re an Agent of King’s Shield. You’ve fought against High Points and—”

“I’m just a scared little Eevee that got lucky with a few dreams! I was useless during those fights and I’ll be useless here, too.”

“You didn’t just, ‘get lucky’. Look, we had that run in with Florrie and Floette for a reason, ya’know? Then that stuff around Moand Dia, and now this. You keep saying that I’m the special Pokémon, but you are too, you know? It’s us together,” Sophitia said. She stepped around to face him, but he struggled to look up at her. “You just need to have confidence in yourself. And try with what you know you can do.”

“Eep. I had no idea being an agent was this stressful,” Esther said.

“It’s really not,” Phoenix said quietly.

“Oh shush! You dunno what real stress is, Fluffy Cheeks.”

“I’m not very strong or useful, either. You don’t really want me to go too, do you?” Infia said.

“Ugh, what is this? I didn’t sleep thousands of years to wake up one day and counsel a bunch of depressed teens. What gives? I thought kids these days would be like, super excited to save the world,” Naivie said.

“Well sorry I’m not who you want me to be?” Lute raised his voice. “Seriously, I don’t have anything special about me. I wanted to be a hero, but these past few weeks have shown me I’m not cut out for it. I get scared easily, I’m too weak to fight other Pokémon, and I’m actually pretty stupid in front of bad guys, too. I’m not the hero you’re looking for.”

“Consider this, little Eevee. If you guys don’t do this, Aseria is done for. Give it a few years tops, the weather stopping will make everyone freeze to death,” Naivie said. “And I know you don’t need much convincing on this, ‘cos you can’t have not seen it. The way all that fog’s been lingering around a lot of places. The sun never comes out. It’s never windy, it never rains, everything’s just a stagnant cold.”

Lute turned to Naivie with fury. “The sea will dry up. Pokémon that need water will fight for it. Conflicts will start. Pokémon that _live_ in water will fight for it. This dreary tone will drag down the hearts of even the most resilient. And all because you’re afraid of screwing up something you won’t even try at!”

“Can’t I get a word in? I’m his mother, after all,” Marina said, turning everyone’s attention to her. Lute flinched, forgetting that she was there the whole time. “I don’t think beating him up is the way to encourage him, if you really are hoping to guide him.”

“I don’t actually care how these lot feel about it all, I’ll be honest with you. All that’s important to me is that these seeds get planted and tended to, that way we still have a planet in a few years,” Naivie said. The Vaporeon seemed to ignore her and spoke to Lute directly.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? If this is how you’ve been feeling about everything, I wish you’d have talked to me about it at some point. I haven’t been tough to approach, have I?” she said. Lute looked away, guilty again. “I think you should go.”

“Wha? Wouldn’t you be—” he said. “You’ve been against me being an agent the whole time. Why would you be okay with me going on a journey?”

“If I was really against you being an agent, I would’ve done far more to stop you from doing so. But it’s not my place to stop you from doing what you want or need to do, only to point you in the right direction. It’s my job to worry nonstop about you, but if this is something you have to do, then it’s something you have to do,” she said, and gave his head fur a ruffle. “What you’re doing will be hard, but you have friends to fall back on and a home to come back to, where you can rest any time, you know? So maybe you’re not going to succeed right away. But watching you, I _know_ this is something you want to do.”

“It is what I want to do,” he said. The others smiled behind Marina. “That’s why it hurts so much to not be good enough. What’s the point in trying if I already know I’m never going to be good enough?”

“Please keep trying. You won’t see it right away, but you’re getting stronger, and you’re growing up. Admittedly too fast for me,” she said, coming closer. She embraced him, surprising him from how warm she was. “To see you get recruited into the thing you always said you wanted to be a part of, only to beat yourself up like this, that really saddens me, Lute. Don’t give up on your dreams like that. Not when you work so hard to achieve them.”

“Mum… but what about school?”

“Oh Lute, you’re such a good boy,” she giggled. “I’ll cover for you, of course. You just have to promise me that you’ll catch up when all of this is over. And for my sake, please keep in touch with me to let me know how things are going. They say no news is good news, but you saw what happened when you were gone that evening.”

“I already promised you something like won’t happen again. I meant it. I’ll write letters,” he said.

“No need. I added myself to the contacts of that badge of yours,” she said. He was sceptical enough to check his agent badge, and just like that, Marina’s name and face were amongst the Pokémon he could call. Sophitia scrambled to check her badge, finding the same thing.

“How? When?” she squealed.

“A mother has her ways. If you ever need me, please don’t hesitate to call me. And if things get rough, come back to rest. This is your home, no matter what,” Marina said. She walked around to address everyone. “… But if you’re all going to stay a night or something, make an effort to tell me in advance please? I’m not used to having so many guests and as you can see, the house isn’t the most spacious.”

“Ehehe, sorry for the intrusion! I just couldn’t wait. I’m seriously so stoked for this journey, it’s gonna be so much fun,” Esther said.

“If we’re going to be gone a long while, I should go home and pack my things. A-and change my clothes, too,” Infia said.

“Wait, Infia? You’re coming too?” Lute said. “Are you sure you want to? You don’t have to if you don’t want—”

“Yes she does have to go. Be as sappy as you want, but it’s law that all of you have to go. You’re all required,” Naivie said.

“You never told us why that is. You are going to tell us, aren’t you?” Phoenix said.

Naivie flinched, and then started mumbling something. “That’s cheating. I’m not allowed to tell you that, either.”

“Of course you aren’t.” He rolled his eyes.

“But I want to go, anyway. I-I want to make it up to you… for saving me… back then,” Infia said, playing with her skirt.

“You don’t have to do that. Honestly, you being here and happy is all I need,” he said.

She shook her head. “I want to find a way to be useful, too. Plus, if you’re going away for a while… I-I know I have Cinder and Raiju, but it’s not the same without you.”

“Only if that’s really how you feel. Don’t ever feel you have to push yourself for my sake.” He nodded.

“I had no idea he had this many hots for the Minun,” Esther mumbled as she leaned towards Sophitia. She hushed and slapped her with a feeler.

“Well what’s wrong with the way you look now? Seems fine to me,” Naivie said.

“This old thing? It’ll never last if we have to go camping and stuff,” Infia said, brushing her skirt.

“Then just take it off and let’s go! Your fur not do the trick or something?” Naivie cried.

Infia answered with a groan while the others rolled their eyes. Marina giggled though. “Naivie, keep acting that bossy and you’re not going to last long.”

…

The group disbanded after that, getting themselves more details and properly prepared for the type of journey that Naivie was asking them to embark on. For Lute and Sophitia, this meant getting a bag with necessities and camping equipment. For Infia, she did as she said she would do and changed clothing, only she had to be braver in picking something suitable. She turned up the following morning with a costume similar to Esther’s pop star clothing, a wholly pink costume of a shirt and tutu.

They all agreed to meet at Everend’s gondola station. Only when they were departing did Lute start to feel that this whole thing was surreal. He had many questions for Naivie and Esther, but he wasn’t expecting to get answers from any of them. Either way, instinct and excitement told him he didn’t need to even ask. He was so excited at the prospect of travelling the world to save it through a legend, that he didn’t want to question it and possibly reveal the whole thing as an elaborate lie. No one else seemed to question any of Naivie’s legitimacy, so perhaps they felt the same way.

“Okay, we’re all set. Let’s go!” Lute said, patting a bag hung at his side. Sophitia had the same, only bigger.

“Where’s our first destination, anyway? You can tell us that, right?” Sophitia said.

“I can, but there also might be some inaccuracy. After all, I’ve been asleep for thousands of years, so I wouldn’t be surprised if places have changed,” Naivie said.

“I’m too tired for this. Why’d we have to wake up so early if we had to think about stuff?” Esther yawn. She was sat on Phoenix’s back, but he didn’t look too bothered by her at all.

“I thought you would be good at early mornings,” Infia said.

“I thought I’d be done with them,” she said, slumping forward into the Fennekin’s head.

“It’s an area to the east of this location. Back then, it was known as Castle Radial,” Naivie said.

“The Radial Castle? Really?” Lute said.

“So it’s still around. Good. We can stop wasting time and march,” Naivie said.

“Yeah, you do that.” Esther gurgled into a snore. The others giggled, setting off.

It didn’t feel like it took too long to reach the castle, but only because Lute had already been there before. Just like last time though, the trip was as unsettling for him. Stale, white fog drowned them the closer they got, while distant, tropical trees created a maze as they walked. When the area got too foggy, Infia took to riding on Lute’s back while Sophitia’s feelers kept everyone close, and the silence of concentration stopped their conversations.

“It’s worse than last time,” Lute said, feeling their progress slow as the fog thickened. “It’s getting pretty cold, too.”

“It’s getting? It was already cold, thank you very much. Are you guys that used to not having weather?” Naivie said with a groan. “Just follow little old me, and you’ll be fine.”

“Okay, so how does that work? The weather’s dead, so it gets really cold and foggy. Doesn’t that just mean it’s winter all the time?” Sophitia said.

“Hey, weren’t you at school? Surely you know how to science works, right?”

“Bold of you to assume Sophitia understands science,” Lute said. He was rewarded with a pinch.

“The weather and seasons do not function. As a result, there’s no wind. And with no wind means that the air doesn’t move. Sure, hot air rises, but with no sunlight to heat it up, the air won’t go anywhere. It just sits here until it gets cold enough to turn into dank fog,” Naivie said. “And it’ll keep doing that. Populated areas will see a slower transformation than others, so just use this place as an example. The whole of Aseria could look like this if we don’t succeed.”

“It almost doesn’t seem that threatening,” Lute said.

“What do you mean ‘not that threatening’?” Naivie screeched. “Could you live in a place like this? Here and now, shrouded by fog. Nothing grows, it never heats up, and any water will one day just evaporate. How can you not see this as a worldwide crisis?”

“I dunno. A worldwide crisis to me looks more like, volcanoes erupting or random earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff, you know? Stuff that makes Pokémon in immediate danger,” he said. “I’m not denying this is pretty serious, though.”

“Hmpf. Get your head outta the clouds. This is what a worldwide crisis looks like. We’re here,” Naivie said.

Lute and Infia made sounds as they stopped before the castle’s entrance. From the looks of things, it was untouched from their last visit, right down to the blast marks and stains of sludge where the Risen had been fought. Infia got off his back to look around a bit, nervous about touching the walls.

“I didn’t see anything odd the first time I was here. Where could we plant a seed in the castle?” Lute asked. Naivie didn’t answer and continued on inside the castle. “Oh, is there some kind of puzzle we have to solve to get to a secret area?”

“Ahahaha! You think the ancients are dumb enough to leave a puzzle? Once Pokémon start figuring it out, everyone knows it and our precious temples are done for,” she said, and puffed out her metaphorical chest. “The temple is underneath the castle, and it’s where the water from the river gathers before it goes to the sea.”

Lute glanced back the way they came. “Everend River stops here? So shouldn’t we have gone here from the river cave?”

“What, walk all the way here underwater? You really aren’t very bright, are you?” Naivie said.

“I think you are just not very nice,” Phoenix said.

“Somebody had to say it,” Sophitia said.

“Gah, whatever. Get out the castle, I’ll do it,” Naivie said. She waited until everyone was behind her before starting, and let out a bright, fiery blue glow. A shimmering sound came from her as well, and when that glow grew enough to blind everyone, the castle reacted.

“What’s happening?” Infia said, entranced as waves of blue light seeped in between the stone of the castle walls. A similar sound began to emanate from the castle, followed by a rumble of the world around them. Naivie soon let out a cry, and the rumbling grew stronger.

“Fuck I’m awake! What’s happenin’ who-what-where-when-how?” Esther jolted awake.

“About time you got up. Naivie what’s happening?” Sophitia shouted. The tiny Carbink didn’t reply, only glowed brighter, so bright that the fog around them dissipated. Everyone had to shield their eyes, the last thing they saw being Naivie and the castle’s mystical blue.

Lute tightly cradled whoever was closest to him, gritting his fangs as he used their weight to plant himself on the floor. It felt like they had gripped him so tightly they might’ve pulled out his fur if he moved, too. The quake carried on for minutes, concerning him enough to force his eyes open. To his surprise, the lights had stopped, giving him full view.

“Guys!” he said, making them all look up as well. Stone and rock were falling like rain, although it was only in front of them. He stumbled back in fright as the floor split from him as well, and the floor of the castle floated upwards. It pulled part of the ground with it, forcing them all to run backwards or else fall into the crater being formed.

“It’s… it’s flying?” Sophitia gasped.

Lute couldn’t think straight and grasp until she said it. The Radial Castle was said to be able to fly, and here it was, taking off into the sky right before his very eyes. The magical light lining the gaps in its stone walls was bleeding below it in a giant stream of propulsion, providing more than enough light to be fully visible even as it ascended into the foggy sky.

With the castle fully ejected, the ground had stopped shaking and was still once again. In the castle’s place was a gigantic crater that was eerily smooth in its carving. The base of the crater was perfectly flat and actually tiled, with only one thing stationed directly in the middle: a teleportal.

“Hey look. Fluffy Cheeks, it looks exactly like the crater in Angard,” Esther said as she dismounted the Fennekin. “Let’s go check it out.”

Sophitia stuck out a paw as the Pikachu charged off to grind down the side of the crater. “Trust her to be full of energy the moment she wakes up. What if the castle comes back and crushes us?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be back in a year or something. It circles the planet once and then lands right back here to seal the temple from view. You dolts have plenty of time to screw things up,” Naivie said.

“Naivie,” Lute said.

“That’s really specific programming,” Infia said.

“Hey guys, c’mon! Don’t be lemons,” Esther called. Phoenix was firs to hop down after her.

“Any idea where that teleportal will take us?” Lute tilted his head at Sophitia. She shook her head, still jaw-dropped. “Dare I ask if you remember anything at all?”

“I don’t think I’d want my memories to be this weird,” she said. With that, the trio jumped down, joining Esther on the teleportal.

“Holy fucking shit, I can’t believe this. this is so cool! We could only pretend to make something this elaborate on one of my shows. But it’s like, actually happening! I could pee myself this is so exciting!” Esther squealed into the air.

“Okay okay, please just, don’t actually do that?” Naivie said, bumping her on the head.

“We should actually keep our guard up as well. Not that I don’t trust Naivie or anything, but I have no idea what to expect from here on,” Sophitia said.

“I’m actually p-pretty scared,” Infia said.

“It’ll be alright. Somehow. We’ll play it safe not matter what happens,” Lute said, and held one of her paws. She nodded and squeezed back.

“Naivie are you gonna do something cool with this, too?” Esther said. Sophitia ignored her with a groan, initiating the warp.

When they arrived, Esther was squealing again, but silenced when she realised what had just happened. Lute did his usual of hopping forwards to scout their new surroundings, but he was joined by a fierce looking Phoenix this time. They landed in a cave setting, immediately noticing the shiny rocks high up near the cave’s ceiling.

“Wait a minute. This cold,” Lute said, seeing his breath come out in smoky puffs. The cave was frigid, the rocks were glistening and glittery, and everything had a turquoise tint to it. “We’ve been here. This is Moand Dia. The level we went to the other day.”

“Not quite. But close enough. Good on you knowing what Moand Dia is, though. I don’t have to explain that part,” Naivie see.

“It is. It’s the same section,” Sophitia said, her voice shaky and low. Lute and Infia glanced at her strained look. “Just like last time, as soon as we got here… he’s here. That really powerful Eevee.”


	17. Battle in the Southern Temple

“So it’s not just me.” Phoenix gritted his fangs. “I can feel a powerful presence nearby. There’s someone or something here that wants us to know we shouldn’t be here.”

“It’s that powerful Eevee we saw the other day. I’m sure of it.” Sophitia scrunched up her face.

“Powerful Eevee?” Esther said.

“Now’s not the time to explain. We can’t afford for him to find us. Naivie, what do we need to do here? Quickly!” Sophitia said.

“There really shouldn’t be anyone here, you know. So I dunno what’s up with your hokey ‘senses’ and stuff but—” Naivie said.

“Naivie, this is not a joke. What do we need to do?” Sophitia raised her voice.

“Alright alright. You of all Pokémon should know not to rush a lady,” Naivie said. At the far end of the cave, within sight of the teleportal, was another crater. This one was surrounded by patterns and marks on the floor, and its centre was a large mound of soil. “Here. I’ll plant a Gracidea Seed in the centre. Then the rest of you must pray to it. If your prayers and respect is genuine, then the seed will grow into a flower Pokémon. It takes about a minute.”

“That’s really it? I feel like there’s more to it than that. It’s got to be more complex,” Lute said.

“Prayer?” Esther said. She walked around the whole setup with a finger on her mouth. “Well I’m not really the praying type, but—”

“Oh good Arceus, must I do _everything_? Each of you needs to stand in those outside circles. Shut your eyes, kneel, and I’ll do the rest!” Naivie squeaked.

“It just sounds too easy,” Lute said as he found the circles she was talking about. They each found a space, but Lute realised that there was one empty circle in their formation, even though all of them were present. Naivie floated over the centre of the crater, so the missing space didn’t belong to her. “Wait, is this right? Why is there a space?”

“Never mind that, just kneel!” she said.

“If this doesn’t work, we know who to blame.” He shook his head. He took a deep breath, cleared his thoughts, and then closed his eyes as he bowed his head.

“I-I can’t. He’s here,” Sophitia said. Her and Phoenix jumped out of their places and rushed to the middle of the room. “He’s already here!”

“Sophitia,” Lute said, having his senses jump. Almost as if he’d been snuck up on, the footsteps of that powerful figure were close by. The familiar, unsettling, echoing rhythm of heavy footsteps that had terrified him so much before.

But this time, they were confronting him. Whether he got over that fear or not, they were to challenge this powerful Pokémon head on. The thought had Lute’s breathing grow tense, and then frantic when the shadow of the Pokémon rotated through the room.

There he was. An Eevee that was normal in appearance in every way except his face. He had jagged, messy head fur, but his eyes were empty. White sockets with the tiniest brown veins to imply that eyeballs were there, just lacking detail. He didn’t particularly look that powerful, but his robotic walk and rigid gaze instilled the idea that he wasn’t to be messed with. The instant the Eevee came into sight, his speed increased and his body glowed with energy.

“Wait, there shouldn’t be anyone- hey you, get out of—” Naivie tried to say, but got brushed aside as if she wasn’t there. The Eevee broke into a Quick Attack, crashing into Sophitia’s magic shield so hard that even though she blocked in time, she was sent miles backward.

“Sophitia! Guys, battle’s on.” Lute stretched his feet out. Esther drew her baton while Infia squealed and ran away to hide herself from the conflict.

There was only a brief moment where the Eevee gazed at them all before the fight broke loose. He jumped up high and spun his body to send a rain of stars down at everyone and force them to guard. Lute turned to his side and braced, but just a few hits of this Swift attack felt like he was being stabbed continuously by a knife. He screamed at the top of his voice and tripped in an effort to stay on his feet.

“Lute!” Sophitia cried. “Leave him out of this!”

With her shield held at her front, she crashed into the enemy Eevee as he landed from his attack, and attempted to slash him with her sword right afterwards. He bounced back from the initial hit, and then avoided each subsequent slash by ducking or jumping aside, all before jumping back a great distance. Phoenix’s Flamethrower landed where he just was, which prevented Sophitia from giving chase.

Phoenix took him on next. He stamped his feet to surround himself in fire for a Flame Charge attack and bolted toward the Eevee at lightning speed. The Eevee grit its teeth and pulled back its right paw. With that paw glowing white with energy, it punched with perfect timing and struck Phoenix so hard that his attack stopped completely. The moment of shock was used to turn around and kick the Fennekin away with both hind legs, which sent him rolling across the floor in a wake of smoke.

“Phoenix! Oh you and I are startin’ off on the wrong tone,” Esther shouted and whipped the ribbon of her baton. Her cheeks crackled with electricity as she did so, which sent a voltage along her baton all the way to the tip of the ribbon. With her weapon charged, she cracked it like a whip, and each snap caused an orb of electricity to fly off into the air. It looked like it surprised the Eevee, but he still dodged each shot with a dash to the left right faster than her eyes could follow.

“So fast—” Esther gasped as she stopped her attack. She resorted to Electro Ball, and held the attack on her tail until the Eevee popped up right in front of her. Lute couldn’t see what happened, but the attack shrouded them both in smoke.

“Esther!” Lute cried. He gasped when the Eevee leapt out of the smoke in his direction. “No, I’m not going to be scared this time. I’m going to fight you if it’s a fight you want.”

The enemy Eevee kept running, and began to glow white for Quick Attack. Lute shook and braced for his own Quick Attack, keeping his sight focused on them as much as he could. His body still hurt and burnt from the Swift earlier, but he knew he could put it aside for now.

His heart raced and his thoughts were unfocused, but he was thrown into the battle anyway. He kicked himself forward into a sprint, and a second later, bashed past the Eevee. A strong wind struck him as they passed, as if their attacks had just about missed one another. He skidded across the floor and spun around to challenge the Eevee again. He still used Quick Attack, but once again, the enemy just about evaded him, striking him with only the wind and force of them passing each other.

“Got to actually hit him,” Lute growled, expecting the same move a third time. The Eevee evaded him at the last moment again, but this time, Lute spun right around at full speed to give chase with the Eevee. He caught it off-guard and bashed directly into the enemy’s side.

“He hit!” Sophitia said, surprised to see Lute’s attack take full effect. The enemy Eevee was sent rolling across the ground, but it caught its balance and skidded to a stop before it hit the wall. It jumped up into the air to use Swift again.

“Lute, get behind me,” Sophitia said as she jumped over to him. He obeyed, and the attack was blocked by her shield, but not without shrouding them in smoke.

Lute didn’t care about that smoke too much, though. He knew the enemy would fall to the ground and be vulnerable to a hit. He took in a breath and dashed off with Quick Attack again.

He was right on the money. The enemy Eevee kicked its feet in the air as it fell, but the moment it landed, it shot into its own Quick Attack, a mere instant before Lute could impact it. It felt like it used the attack to try and escape Lute, as although he felt himself tackle something, he ended up behind the Eevee.

“Not this again,” he muttered as he gave chase. They carried on like this, bashing into each other hard enough to bounce back from each hit, all until Lute found himself facing the Eevee head on perfectly. He roared and tackled it as hard as he could, but got locked in a battle of strength. Their paws were clenched in each other’s, both trying to push the other over with gritted fangs and tensed muscles.

Just then, a strange feeling overcame Lute. In that moment, time seemed to freeze for him, and all his surroundings vanished into white. It was just him and this Eevee pushing against each other, yet to him, he felt silly. Mystified. Confused. It was like he was simulating a fight against himself while looking in a mirror.

He couldn’t help but shudder and gawk like a confused idiot. This Eevee looked _exactly_ like him, from the furs on his head to the size of his paws. The longer this moment went on, the more Lute felt like he was in front of that mirror, and the more unsettled he became. Before long, the Eevee hissed and threw him aside, twisting its body to kick him with both hind legs.

Lute almost threw up from the impact to his stomach, left winded in a heap. He managed to stand, but the moment he did, he coughed and choked on something. His body trembled in pain as his eyesight had started to blur.

“Lute, get it together. You can’t just rush at him,” Sophitia said. Her, Phoenix and Esther jumped back into the battle, though even with the three of them attacking one after the other, it was clear that they were outmatched.

It gave Lute a chance to try and steady himself. He couldn’t concentrate on them at all, as his view of them continued to blur the more he tried to focus. Everything was taking on a yellow hue, all the while his energy drained from him as he struggled to breathe and stay upright. He staggered about while something in front of him was glowing at an annoying brightness.

“The necklace?” he managed to say, his voice gritty and toneless. He grabbed it tightly, which activated some hidden function he wasn’t expecting. The yellow light glowed even brighter with his touch and surrounded him in streams of flicking yellow. The lights circled him once before flying right into him, sending that burning feeling into overdrive.

Whatever was happening, he wasn’t in control of it. He felt like fire was brewed in his body and forced itself up from his stomach. The way he was feeling, he wouldn’t be surprised if he vomited flames. But he did channel something as he coughed and motioned throwing up. He opened wide, and a huge, sputtering sphere of electricity formed in front of him, this orb growing to the size of his head to once again blind his view. He flinched hard as he coughed again, firing the orb away.

The others gasped when the attack to intruded their battle. But it hit the enemy Eevee directly, earning a cry of pain and surprise. The Eevee was surrounded by a dome of yellow bolts for a moment before the attack exploded, sending tingling waves of static through the air.

“That came from- Lute!” Infia cried, drawing everyone’s eyes to his stumbling figure. Sophitia and Phoenix quickly turned back to the enemy Eevee in expectation of him attacking while they were distracted. However, that Eevee was as off-balance as Lute, surrounded all over by crackling bolts.

“It’s paralysed,” Sophitia muttered, unable to believe what she was seeing. The Eevee snarled at them like a feral Houndour, but every step it took was met with spasms and strains that had its legs bending at angles uncomfortable to look at. It looked pathetic.

For Lute however, pain was still surging through his body. His legs shook with his last ounces of strength, which he desperately wanted to use to try and say something. All he could muster were hoarse breaths and strained stretches. He eventually shut his eyes and collapsed, too heavy, sleepy, and distant from everything to stay awake. The sound of his name getting called distorted eerily, but before long, even noise was all but lost to him. He didn’t give up, but his body was at its limit.

…

When Lute came to, it was the strangest sensation he had ever felt. His body felt groggy and weak, but each of his senses came back one by one. It started with the feeling of being wrapped up in the softness of his bed, then he caught on to the voices of his friends, Sophitia and Esther in an argument. Then he coughed from a dry throat.

“Lute?” Sophitia said, worry all over her tone.

He forced his eyes open with a want to subdue that worry, but that was a big mistake. He was so weak that he could barely even keep his eyes open, so that hurt a ton. A strange new feeling began to intrude that, a soothing pulse that seemed to give him the strength to open his eyes after all.

“Infia?” he said. She was leaned over him with both paws on his chest, where a pretty light came from the tips of those paws. Whatever she was doing, his energy flowed back in waves. At least until he realised how close she was to him, and flinched. “Wa-wait, wah!”

“Lute?” she gasped and backed off. She hit her head on the wall behind her and whimpered.

“Ah wait, sorry, I didn’t—” He sat up. Everyone was staring at him, Marina included. He recognised his room and his bed below him. “What am I doing back here? What happened?”

“You passed out from the fight back there. You slept until morning too, even with Infia healing you,” Sophitia said. His mouth hit the floor.

“Infia’s healing? I didn’t- why am I even—” he whispered.

“Because you fainted like the weakling you are!” Naivie cried and hit him on the nose. “If I’d known you were so weak and pathetic, I’d have begged for fate to choose another Pokémon. You didn’t even get hit, you just like, died back there.”

It took him a moment to realise what she was talking about, and then it all came back to him. Specifically, the way he felt when he clashed with the Eevee. “Wait, you’re telling me I… I lost again?”

He looked up from his paws at all their worried faces, and none of them replied. “I… I can’t believe I- argh, this is so…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Sophitia said. “I don’t know what you did, but that attack you pulled off paralysed him. I actually don’t know how we would’ve escaped without that.”

“Don’t patronise him, either! We could easily have gotten away if he didn’t faint,” Naivie said. “Listen here, Eevee. I was being nice earlier, but you’re _pathetic_. P-A-THE-TIC. Because of you knocking out from nothing, we don’t even have a flower seed planted. And we were right there!”

“Well it’s not his fault an overpowered monster came and fought us, is it? I don’t blame him, I was at my wits end on how to hit that guy,” Esther said. She slapping Naivie and growled.

“Guys please do not start arguing again.” Sophitia pushed them both apart with her feelers.

“No no, you don’t have to argue. Naivie’s right. I fainted when I really shouldn’t have, and we failed because of that. I am honestly sorry, but there’s actually a few things that I’m more concerned about,” Lute said as he stood up. “When I battled that Eevee, I got to see his face. He looks exactly like me.”

“Oh my gods. Are you like, extra dumb as well?” Naivie said while the others gawked. “_Of course _he looks exactly like you. You’re both Eevee? Are we seriously going to ask this?”

“No no no, I know that. But when I say the same, I mean he looks hair for hair exactly the same as me. I felt like I was looking in a mirror. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Lute cried.

“He looked exactly like you? That accurately? Are you certain?” Marina stepped forward as well.

“Yes, I’m sure! And when I think about it as well, he used the same moves as me. Quick Attack and Swift. Only those two. Mum, do you know anything about that?”

The Vaporeon gasped and stepped back. “No, I just… listen, that’s something you aren’t going to be able to answer by just thinking about it. You should think about what you’re going to do about that enemy. It sounds like they’re going to guard the temple from you.”

“She’s got a point. We’re going to need to get past that Eevee somehow,” Sophitia said.

“There was another reason I came in here, actually. You guys got another letter from the agents while you were out. You’ve got tickets and directions to their base and all.”

“They sent us directions? We already know how to get there,” Sophitia said.

“Ooh, I get to go to a King’s Shield base. I guess it’s for the newbies like me?” Esther said.

“You’re not counted as an agent,” Phoenix said.

“Actually, it’s because it’s a different base. I don’t think you’ll see Silver and that lot. It’s in Pokétopia, Aseria’s capital.” Marina handed Sophitia the note. Esther’s excitement faded, and she shrunk.

“Pokétopia?” she mumbled.

“Lute, are you feeling alright? If you’re okay, you should get going. You know what they’re like with keeping them waiting,” Marina said.

“I’m feeling okay. Now that you mention it, I feel better than okay. You said Infia could heal or something,” he said, and checked himself out. His body didn’t even have marks where he’d been hit.

“Oh I’ve already drilled her for that one.” Naivie glared at the shy Minun. “Turns out this little girl has a healing touch! And until now, she decided not to use it at all.”

“Can you really heal wounds?” Lute said turning to Infia.

The Minun played with her skirt, squirmed, and made every effort not to look at him or Naivie. “I-I’m not very good at it. And it makes me really tired as well. I-I’m not sure how helpful it’ll be—”

“Utter rubbish! You had the whole group good as new in no time. And don’t think I didn’t see you using Helping Hand, either. Casually turning Lute from a weakling into a powerhouse – if I hadn’t been paying attention, I’d say that you were letting everybody lose,” Naivie said.

“Helping Hand?” Lute said as he recalled the battle. “I don’t remember getting any power boost, but then again, my attacks actually damaged the enemy Eevee. Any of our tougher opponents I haven’t been able to touch.”

“I don’t like siding with Naivie’s tone here, but honestly, you’re pretty incredible, Infia.” Sophitia scratched her face. The Minun settled into a blush. “I dunno exactly what magic you’re using that let you fix all our damage, but it works perfectly. It’s like I was never in a battle to begin with.”

Lute hopped off the bed as she spoke, but kept quiet and straight faced. He didn’t know whether to be bothered or interested in these new revelations. It shouldn’t have been surprising that the legend he was taking part in would be riddled with mystery, especially since he decided it would be more exciting to not ask questions and find out for himself. But to find that he and his friends were revealing new powers, implying they each had a direct connection to the legend, he felt uncomfortable with that.

The electric attack he launched and the discomfort that brought. Infia’s apparent new healing abilities, as well as her Helping Hand possibly giving a greater boost than it should’ve. And the Eevee that looked exactly like him, minus the empty eyes.

Something was telling him this wouldn’t be the end to all the new feelings he’d experience and the discomfort that came with them. And worse still, a foreboding told him he wasn’t going to like the truth behind it all.


	18. The Cultists of Aseria

“Uh, do we really have to go to Pokétopia?” Esther said, stopping them at the gondola station.

“Well, yeah. It’s an order from the agents.” Sophitia shrugged her feelers.

“But that’s- uh, y’know, wouldn’t it be cooler to just focus on Naivie’s quest? Like she said, this is all with the world at stake, after all.” Esther raised a fist.

“I’m in agreement,” the Carbink squeaked. Sophitia frowned.

“If that Eevee is waiting for us inside or near the temple, then we can’t just throw ourselves at it. We know that we can’t beat them. So at the very least, we should aim to get more information and maybe train ourselves up a bit. That was our first time fighting together as a whole team, after all,” she said. She rub her chin with a feeler. “And with this free time, disobeying the agents is pointless. Don’t you want to go?”

“Argh. I don’t mind but… uh, Fluffy Cheeks, help me out here,” Esther groaned and slumped into him.

“You’re not officially an agent. You don’t have to come with us,” the Fennekin said.

“Aww what? C’mon, we should do stuff together now. Plus, didn’t you say I’m in your custody or something? Would be pretty bad if you were seen without me.” She winked.

“Then come with us.” He walked around her, eyes shut.

Esther’s face fell flat. “Gee, thanks. I’ll remember that.”

“Don’t you want to go to Pokétopia, Esther?” Infia said as they walked into the station. “I’ve never been that far away from Everend before. It’s kind of exciting.”

“Oh alright, I’ll level with ya,” Esther grumbled and folded her arms. “I’m a pop star, ya’know? It’s sorta impossible to walk around a big place like that. Pokétopia’s always overflowing with crowds. Every time I go there, I get followed or whistled out by an asshole pervert or something. It’s really uncomfortable.”

“That’s a good call, actually,” Sophitia said, about to scan her ticket into the barrier. “What do you normally do to deal with that?”

“Brayen or Fluffy Cheeks sorts it out for me. I just thought if we were doing Naivie’s journey, we wouldn’t go anywhere that populated.” Esther turned away. “I’m… not ready to deal with the fans yet. That’s it! Infia, swap clothes with me.”

“Wha-huh?”

“Yeah! If we swap clothes, they’ll never know it’s me. C’mon, you get to wear the real costume for a day! That’s gotta be a fangirl’s dream come true, right?” she said.

Infia took one look at Esther from top to bottom and went bright red. “Y-you’ll never fit, though.”

“Oh what, ‘cos I eat more than you?”

“N-no! I’m smaller. A-and… well… I er, the underwear,” she said, going quieter at every word.

“That’s the least important part! C’mon, for me? I’ll wear it instead if you don’t wanna throw it away,” Esther said.

“Oh-kay, that’s enough out of that one. I’m getting awkward just listening to this,” Sophitia said. She pushed them apart with her feelers. “If hiding your identity is to do with your clothes, why don’t _you_ just take them off? Unlike Infia, you don’t have anything to hide.”

“Sophitia!” Lute said.

“Ah, that’s- actually a good idea. But wait, Infia has something to hide?” Esther said. Sophitia’s eyes widened.

“No, but there’s no point in swapping clothes. Take yours off, stay or home, or deal with your fans yourself,” Sophitia said.

“It’s actually the mark on your tail that gives you away,” Phoenix said as he went through the ticket barrier. “Gondola leaves in two minutes. We need to move.”

“My tail—” Esther twisted to look at it. “Oh yeah. I forgot I had that on there. Well shit.”

Lute watched her grumble and march off, unable to help sneak a look himself. Her tail had the heart-shaped tip that all female Pikachu had, but for her, the tip also had a black marking on it. To him, the mark almost looked like the number five. It probably had something to do with her motif or something he didn’t understand.

“Pokétopia is in the very centre of Aseria. It’s the largest city in the world, and its inside a dome. It’s like, the most urban place the world has,” Esther said. By now they had boarded the gondola and set off, and they were the only ones aboard the carriage. “You guys have all been to the Ministry of Science, right? If you’ve seen the kind of tech they have there, then you won’t be surprised to see the dome.”

“I’ve read about it. It’s also the centre of energy circulation throughout the world, right? It’s where all the gondolas go, and all the electricity the world uses is generated.” Lute looked up to recall it. “Supposedly the city’s always awake because it’s visited year-round by Pokémon constantly. So Pokémon switch between daytime and nocturnal workers. It’s also expensive to visit, so Pokémon from Everend rarely go there, even though we have gondolas travelling directly to it.”

“Ahaha, you do your research! You’re so impressive, Lute,” Esther said, her eyes gleaming at him. “I’ve played more shows there than I can count, all at the different venues and landmarks. While it’s pretty flashy and I get to go all-out, it’s impossible to sleep there. Sure there’s hotels and stuff, but there’s lots of light and stuff. Can we not stay there longer than we need to?”

“U-understandable. I’m not one for all the tech stuff, either,” Sophitia whimpered. She was crouched by one of the handlebars and clutched it with both paws and feelers as if her life depended on it.

“It depends on what King’s Shield want with us,” Phoenix said.

“I er, was hoping I could sightsee a little when we were free. It’ll be my first time there,” Lute said.

“Oh, why didn’t ya say so? Sure, I’ll show you around, my treat.” Esther winked at him. Infia tilted her head.

“Well that was a change of heart,” Phoenix said.

“Do you want me to be enthusiastic or do you want me to be edgy? ‘Cos you’re bein’ pretty fucking edgy right now, Fluffy Cheeks.” She went half-lidded.

“If you’re not a pop star, then you’re not my boss anymore.”

“Oh. Sassy now, are we? Why don’t you say to my face?” she stomped her way over to him. “Do go on. I couldn’t hear you earlier.”

“I don’t understand your sentiment.” He looked away.

“Exactly. Next time, don’t forget your dog collar,” she said, and tapped him on the nose.

Lute rolled his eyes and turned to the scenery. The gondola sped across a rail so high in the sky that much of the distant land was patterns of fields and mountain, while the sea below them looked like a clay model. He was used to this view from his trip to the Ministry of Science, but this time, he wasn’t as happy to see it. The clouds above blanketed the sky as far as the eye could see, and every speck of them was exactly the same colour and tone of grey.

If he hadn’t met Naivie and seen the foggy temple for himself, he would have thought that this was normal. But this stale scenery brought on a heartfelt dread that made him shiver. The world was truly devoid of seasons and was only going to look bleaker if he didn’t get stronger.

“Hey, Sophitia,” he said quietly, but stopped when he saw her weakened state. She was sprawled out at the foot of the handlebar, pale and trembling. “You’re never going to get used to gondola travel, are you?”

“No! I’d rather do anything else!”

…

Over an hour later, their destination finally came into view with their arrival imminent. Pokétopia was exactly what it was made out to be: an enormous dome of tinted glass situated in the middle of barren fields on all sides. Protected by this surrounding land of empty plains and distant mountains, the dome was allowed to occupy a huge amount of space. Even from miles up in the sky, the whole dome couldn’t fit into Lute’s view.

Their gondola slipped inside via a small gap in the glass, where it slowed down to let them get a good view of the city. The sound of active crowds passed through the walls of the gondola, while neon shop signs and waves of show lights blurred the scenery. Lute pressed his face against the window in awe at all the colours, most surprised by the sheer number of Pokémon in the streets. There wasn’t a single space where the ground was visible.

“Wow, there’s so many different shops,” Infia said, doing the same. Inside the dome was dark, as if they had just stepped somewhere that was perpetually night time. That enabled the lighting to really shine with the urban vibe they had expected. Even as they stepped off the gondola carriage and out into the open of the station, it was impossible to see the sky.

“We er, better stay together. It’s kinda easy to get lost when you’re not surrounded by chauffeurs,” Esther said. “I call dibs on Lute!”

“Call dibs? Oof,” Lute coughed as she jumped on him. He struggled to stand with her on his back but just about managed with a gritty breath. “E-Esther, you’re kinda heavy.”

“Aww c’mon. It’s training, right? Fluffy Cheeks doesn’t have any trouble carryin’ me.” She giggled.

“That’s because he’s Phoenix,” he growled.

“E-Esther, please.” Sophitia rolled her eyes when Lute finally collapsed. That set off the Pikachu’s laughter though, as well as weird looks from Phoenix and Infia. She ignored them all to review their directions. “Oh, wait. There’s no need. They’re meeting us at the station.”

“Are they? See, you don’t even have to walk far. You can do it lil’ champion!” Esther cheered.

“Why did I sign up for this?” he groaned.

“Now where would.” Sophitia habitually nibbled a feeler as she scanned the area.

Similar to the gondola stations she had been to before, this one overlooked a central street from a few floors up. It was far bigger than those other stations though, with many signs plastered on the walls to direct to platforms counting to the double digits. There were electronic screens detailing schedules and a constant flow of chatting Pokémon, making her feel like she was in the way.

“By the platform thirteen lounge. Man this place is huge,” she mumbled.

“That would be this way.” Phoenix walked off.

It didn’t take long to find, especially since said lounge was noticeably cleaner than the rest of the station. It looked more like a bar had been set up rather than a typical waiting room, complete with an Audino bartender and Slurpuff in butler suits.

“It’s about time you showed up. Did you all have trouble finding the place?” someone said soon after they wandered in. They turned to see Lassic sat on a couch with a wine glass, one leg crossed over the other. The Delphox had his familiar eyepiece.

“It’s Lassic,” Lute said. Esther stopped teasing him to gawk at the famous figure.

“So who’re you meant to be, mister important? You better have called us out here for something important, because if it’s a waste of our time, you’re going to pay for it,” Naivie said as she fluttered out in front of him.

“Naivie!” everyone screamed.

“Please excuse her, she’s sorta outta the loop of stuff, haha,” Sophitia said, managing to push her away.

“No worries. It’s just a trait of the young. Besides, I’ve seen reports of your recent activities. I know who she is. You’ve all been far busier than I ever intended,” Lassic said. He slowly sipped at the rest of his drink and stood up. “Follow me, please. I am a busy Pokémon, as you know. And we are already behind schedule.”

He left his glass with the bartender and led the way with his paws tucked behind his back. Everyone followed as closely as they could, although Lute couldn’t help but admire the surroundings as passed. The Pokémon all around them looked like they were having fun, though some also looked stressed as they dashed to and from the station.

“Wait, what’s that? There are more vehicles?” Sophitia cried. It looked like a gondola except that it was connected directly to the ground and there weren’t any doors.

“Oh, that’s just a bus. Haven’t you seen one before?” Lassic said.

“No!” she cried.

Lute didn’t get her panic. The bus carriage was majestic in its colourful design and had rows of lights on its front and back. After a Monferno boarded it, the bus sped off with an engine noisier than surrounding conversations. He thought it looked fun to ride on one.

He couldn’t help but laugh a little in excitable thoughts like that. There were a few of these buses around, and each one went in different directions. This was on top of gondolas gliding through the air on a web of rails lining the city heights. Pokémon flew amongst those to deliver what looked like boxes and food to Pokémon that accepted them from open windows on the surrounding buildings. One of those delivery Pokémon, a Farfetched, dropped its food onto a group of Pokémon below, a Lickilicky in a wheelchair. That family of Pokémon were surprised, but after slurping up the food, broke into laughter.

“This place is so alive. It looks like it’s night time, but everyone and everything’s so active and colourful. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fun. It’s hard to be upset about anything while you’re here. It’s so much fun sometimes that you forget to sleep, or you kinda stop caring about the outside world. It’s a real, er, what’s that word?” Esther said.

“Utopia?” he said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said. “You’re really good with words, too.”

“Look around you well, Lute and friends. See the marvel of the world of Aseria,” Lassic said. As they walked, Aegislash and Doublade surrounded their group to them space to block the crowds from them. “Public transport. Disability services. Convenient technology ranging from the mighty aircraft to the simplicity of the automatic door. Such fidelity of simple life services is only possible thanks to Aseria’s reliance on V Waves.”

“All of this stuff is V Wave powered?” Sophitia said.

“Yes. But that convenience is being threatened by none other than you and your friends,” Lassic said.

“Wait, what? What did I do?” Lute gasped.

“Be too cute, that’s what,” Esther said as she tickled his cheek. “But seriously, that’s one hell of a bold statement.”

Lassic stopped to face them. “You’ve all recently been to Moand Dia again, haven’t you?”

“We… yes we have. We went there once as per Silver’s orders, but we ended up there again thanks to the quest,” Lute said.

“We know because of the computers you put down last time. They allow us to monitor Moand Dia deeper than ever before,” he said. He resumed the walk, and a paw went to his chin. “But your second trip there was unauthorised. Following that, the Radial Castle has activated and left the atmosphere. It’s all according to the legends left behind by the ancients. The place you found was a temple, wasn’t it?”

“Well you’re well informed. So why the negative tone?” Naivie said.

“We’ve arrived,” Lassic said as he walked straight in. Everyone stopped to see where they were, a shopping centre titled ‘The Arcade’ in letters drawn out of light bulbs.

“I don’t like this,” Sophitia said, bringing a feeler over to Lute. Esther slapped it with a little shock. “Hey- what the, why are you still on his back?”

“It’s comfy. And he’s handling just fine,” she said.

Lute sighed. “Not now. Please.”

They followed Lassic into an elevator, where he inserted a unique key into the one key slot amongst the buttons for each floor. Once twisted, the doors shut and the lift descended and soon opened out into the familiar, computer-filled room of an agent base. This one was much better organized and spacious, but also had a lot more Pokémon working inside.

“The legends in Aseria’s history are outdated fantasies of the past that should stay there. Do not attempt to revive them.” Lassic finally addressed them with an angered look.

“Hold on, I only agreed to do it because I wanted to be- why shouldn’t I?” Lute said.

“You have seen the way the Pokémon live here, and in the Ministry of Silence. Computers enhance our lives. Stabilise our society. Some Pokémon our born with disabilities where they need this technology to even function and have close to a normal life. But all of it requires V waves,” Lassic said. “The legend you have followed, the legend that requires you to enter the temple below the Radial Castle, it is the one with the legendary flowers, is it not?”

Lute gulped. “That’s the one. Naivie said she can plant a seed and that our prayers can grow it.”

“I don’t think you should tell him that, Lute,” Naivie said.

“Those flowers will destroy our world. The infrastructure I have spent such a long time creating and maintaining, it would be forced to reset to that of the ancient past. Could you imagine living in a world without the everyday miracles you saw just now?”

“I don’t get what you’re talking about, though. I’m only doing this because the weather of Aseria has gone stagnant. If we grow the flowers, won’t the seasons return?” Lute said. He gradually grew fearful, and that tone was coming out in his voice.

“There are Pokémon who cling desperately to the ways of the past. Refuse to try and use technology despite how much easier it makes things. Despite how it enables we Pokémon to act far beyond the feral instincts our species are based upon. The purpose of the ancients and their religious following of those flowers and the Shaymin, was to prevent our advancement as a society,” Lassic said, closing a fist. He looked as though he wanted to smash something. “If those flowers are reborn, the V waves will be controlled and our technology will cease to function. The world will be brought to a drastic standstill!”

“So what, we should just leave the world to get destroyed by lack of weather? You sound smart enough to know exactly why the lack of seasons is a problem, or maybe you’re choosing to be wilfully ignorant to push your own agenda,” Naivie said. “It’s what you leader types always try to do.”

“Naivie—” Sophitia said.

“I have researched far more than you could ever imagine. That is why I was able to create the world we have today! If I didn’t understand V waves the way I do, we would never have moved forward as a society!” Lassic raised his voice. He took in a breath and shut his eyes. “Take this as a direct order from the president of Aseria: you are _not_ to engage in this history any more. Continuation will result in arrest and trial.”

“That’s not going to stop me. Or any of them,” Naivie said as she floating over to Lute and the others.

“Naivie please, this isn’t the place to—” Sophitia tried to hush her.

“Listen here, _Mister_ Lassic. These five are the heroes of Aseria. And as long as they follow their hearts, they will stop at nothing to make the world what they want it to be. I can’t make them decide on what’s best, and neither can you. That’s just who they are.”

Silence fell, and Esther slowly got off Lute’s back. “W-wow. Naivie, I didn’t know you felt that way? You never sound like it.”

“Shut up. I’m not trying to give you kids swell heads,” she said.

“Well that was uncalled for,” Sophitia said. “Arguments aside, that recent activity can’t really be why you called us out here like this.”

“You are sharp, Sophitia. No, it wasn’t. That was simply an urgent matter I had to speak about. Over here.” Lassic directed them deeper into the base. Lute couldn’t help but hang his head, and didn’t realise that everyone was moving until Infia tapped him.

“We have been monitoring Spirle’s movements recently and have finally seen a pattern in where their High Points are attacking. The other agents have already been notified of our findings,” Lassic said, allowing them to go into the next room first. It looked like a laboratory for secret experiments, lined by computer screens on the walls. A large stasis chamber sat in the centre surrounded by even more intricate screens and keyboards. A male Meowstic turned and left his work to greet them.

“It’s you. The prosecutor,” Sophitia said.

“Please, call me Athens. I’m guessing Lassic is giving me the task of delivering the news?” he said, paws tucked behind his back.

“You are very good at it, sir.” Lassic snickered.

“Yes. Of course.” Athens cleared his throat. “Two major things. The first is that Spirle’s High Points have been very active around areas related to Moand Dia. Specifically, areas where information on Aseria’s history can be deciphered. This includes areas like the Ministry of Science’s nature reserve, or the ruins of Angard, an uncharted country on Eastern Aseria.”

“_Angard? Where Gen lives. Don’t they know that we’ve been there?_” Sophitia thought.

“This is the most active Spirle have ever been, so we need to strike them hard while we have the chance. We would like you agents to search these locations and apprehend anyone you can find,” Athens said.

“We need to go to those places anyway. So we’re sorta killing two birds with one stone, right?” Esther said.

“We _were_ heading to those places, but not anymore. This is our new mission objective,” Phoenix said.

“Er-erm, as happy as I am about hitting the bad guys where they deserve it, how’re we going to manage?” Sophitia came forward. “We’ve battled High Points before. Not to downplay you guys, but I don’t think we can stand up to them.”

“It won’t be a problem, not if we use their own weaponry against them. For you see, the data we got from Infia recently has also revealed that you have a trump card. This brings me to the second piece of information I wish to share with you,” Athens said. “Infia, if you please?”

“Me?” she said, scrunching up. He nodded and directed her to a small set of steps by the stasis chamber. She wandered along cluelessly, unsure about stepping into the middle. She stepped far enough for a glass cylinder to trap her in, however.

“Hey wait, what’s going on? What’re you doing?” Lute said, about to jump after her. The others crowded around in concern as well, but Athens ignored them all to work on the computer.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to show you something, something that Spirle are highly responsible for,” Athens said as he tapped away.

“Well this doesn’t look worrisome at all,” Esther said. A moment later, the chamber filled with orange liquid, throwing everyone into a panic. Infia cried out but held her breath as she was submerged.

“Infia!” Lute gasped.

“Whoa whoa whoa hey, what do you think you’re doing? Get her outta there,” Sophitia said.

“Don’t panic, she will be fine. She doesn’t need to breathe,” Athens said, continuing to work on the computer.

“She’s doesn’t need to- what the fuck?” Esther shouted.

“This liquid helps to compress V waves. Once I increase the density of it, you will see what I mean, and the remarkable truth about Infia will be revealed.” He continued to ignore them.

“But she’s gonna drown,” Lute cried.

“Easy. Trust this Pokémon. He isn’t going to hurt her,” Lassic said, and laid a paw on Lute and Sophitia. They barely contained themselves though, one foot shifting ahead while their eyes locked on Infia’s anxious face. Even Phoenix was growling, fangs gritted and embers leaking from his mouth.

“You see, Spirle’s operations appear to utilise some of the most advanced V wave technology ever seen. Their results are imperfect, but through their efforts, they have been able to create living entities. Pokémon with digital bodies so real that they blend right in with real Pokémon,” Athens said.

A heavy spark of electricity made them all jump, and before anyone could turn around, Esther’s ribbon snapped at the glass. Infia cowered away just in time as the strike smashed the glass to bits, flooding the room and the surrounding machinery in the liquid. The stasis chamber itself shorted, while everyone else was soaked.

“Esther?” Lute gasped. She was slumped over with her ribbon in hand, but her whole body was crackling.

“What is wrong with you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Athens shouted. He retracted when Esther looked up at him with a gaze fiercer than a protective Pyroar.

“I knew it was a bad idea coming here,” she said on a shuddering breath. “What’s wrong with me? Are you seriously asking that?”

“This machine was tens of thousands worth of pokegold. Lives were risked stealing it from Spirle, and you just broke it like that?” Athens said.

“Oh shut the fuck up!” Esther roared into the air. “You drown a living Pokémon while you talk about some crap about digital creations. This is the same shit as before with Phoenix. You haven’t changed a bit!”

“Esther,” Infia mouthed.

“So what, you gonna tell these guys that she’s just some programmed creation from Spirle? That she’s our ‘weapon’ we can use to help us against the High Points? And then just send her every which way to do your dirty work like she’s some expendable resource?”

“Esther, it’s okay,” Infia squeaked.

“No it’s _not_ okay, Infia! You dunno what you’re getting yourself into. You don’t have to say you’re okay with it just ‘cos they’re adults. You don’t know the fucked-up stuff you’re agreeing to,” she said. Her volume rose with every word.

“You already know about it? About Infia?” Athens approached Esther. “Then you know that she’s a V Pocket. A pre-programmed bundle of waves that behaves as a self-dependant android Pokémon.”

“What?” Lute whispered.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut the fucking hell up! You guys always talk and treat them like they’re just your slaves. You can’t even think about what they want or what they feel!” she screamed.

“They’re V Pockets, Esther. They can’t want anything,” Athens said.

“Yes. They. Can!” she shouted at the top of her voice. She releasing a violent spray of electricity all around, but Athens stopped her immediately with Light Screen attack directly in front of her.

“Damage one more thing and you can kiss your freedom goodbye. We’ve been lenient enough with you and your group,” Lassic said, arms folded. Esther grabbed her head and roared upward, and then took off before anything more could be said.


	19. How to Live

_“Infia is what we’ve called a V Pocket. A compressed bundle of V Waves with intricate programming that enables them to act as an independent android. They are like Pokémon, but since they are made of programmable V Waves, they have certain limitations, such as an inability to grow. The benefit however, is that they are capable of abilities not possible by normal Pokémon.”_

Lute wandered the streets of Pokétopia with his head down, distant from the amusements around him. He couldn’t get that fact out of his head. Infia’s disability, her effective Helping Hand, and her healing abilities, all of it was because she was a V Pocket. A creation of Spirle’s.

“_They don’t age. They don’t need to nourish themselves with food or water. They don’t even need to sleep or breathe. If perfected, V Pockets could become god-like weapons that threaten all of Aseria. But if we use their weapons against them, Infia_…”

According to Athens, Spirle had been trying to create and perfect V Pockets for years now, all so that they could create an army that could rule over Aseria. All their failed experiments transformed into Risen, the sludgy monsters he had seen and battled a few times. He didn’t want to believe any of it, but knowing that Infia was Victoria’s ‘daughter’ made it hard to argue against.

He stopped dead in his tracks and teared up just thinking about it. The poor Minun had been through far more than any Pokémon should have to bear. And now, the Agents of King’s Shield wanted to use her to help defeat the Spirle High Points. As sensible a solution as it was, it felt equally vile.

Thinking about it made him furious, but that fury was only a fraction of what Esther felt. The Pikachu stormed out of the agent base and hadn’t been seen since, so now the party was split up to search for her. Infia sat on Lute’s back in silence, while he searched.

The way Esther spoke back there, it implied she had seen the exact scene of what happened to Infia before, but with Phoenix instead. Considering how close they were, he didn’t understand it beyond the fact that it obviously tore her apart. Even though he had seen her upset enough to curse before, this time felt different. The whole scene kept playing in his head.

“Lute. I think I know where she is.” Infia tapped his neck. “Esther likes high places. So she’s probably at the top of the Arcade.”

“Right back where we started? We did kind of circle the area.” He looked toward the rooftops. Thanks to the lighting of the city, it didn’t look like there were any. He made his way to the shopping centre anyway, where the lift took them to the highest floor.

The doors opened to a rooftop lookout lined with benches and a few bushes. There were a few Pokémon soaking in the dim atmosphere, mostly couples or groups. Without wind or a view of the sky however, Lute felt hot, as if he wasn’t really as high up as he thought he was. At twenty-four floors up, he was expecting a cool breeze, not heated air from the lights all around.

“I can’t see her,” he said. Infia looked with him, and her cheeks gave the lightest sizzle of static.

“Over there.” She pointed towards the front edge of the lookout. He jogged right to the edge, but he still couldn’t see her. “Esther?”

“You sure she’s here?” Lute raised an eyebrow. Infia called out again, and finally got a reaction via the bushes that walled them into the area. They rustled for a moment, and out popped Esther’s head, bows and all. “E-Esther?”

“Shh!” She signalled him to come closer. He was wary, so she yanked through the bush the moment she could grab him.

They emerged on the very edge of the shopping centre’s roof, literally stood on top of the letters and logo of the place. The instant Lute realised how little floorspace he had, he freaked out and stood on his hind legs to lean back as far as he could.

“Geez, keep it calm, will ya? You’re not gonna fall,” Esther said as she slid to sit down, her legs hanging off the edge. Just that gave him anxiety, and sweat covered his face.

“E-Esther. What’re you doing here?” he managed to say, but Infia slid off him to walk over. “Infia, careful!”

“Oh, you’re not good with heights? Sorry, I wouldn’t have dragged you out if I knew.” Esther smiled

Lute paused and gulped. He turned to face forward, but the knowledge of how high up he was began to become apparent. The Pokémon in the streets were undetailed blurry dots from here, and he couldn’t even hear them. “Okay. Let’s go back okay? The others are all worried about you.”

“Of course they are. Then I get slammed with a million gold fine and another decade of media service. I know I can pay it off no sweat, but damn it man,” she said, resting her head on her paws.

Infia took a deep breath. “Lute, do you mind if I talk to Infia alone for a minute, please?”

“I-I er,” he said, looking back. He could climb back into the bush, but one mistake on these shaky hind legs and he’d fall. He opted for shuffling away instead, but slipped and fell onto his belly. He took to hugging the metal instead. At least it was as cold as he wanted it to be.

“You’re gonna ask me what’s wrong. And all I’m gonna say is stuff you probably don’t understand. Or maybe it just all sounds like sappy, made up Tauros-shit,” Esther said.

“Please tell me anyway. I want to listen,” Infia said. “When I first met you, I thought it would be a dream come true. But you turned out not to be the Pokémon I thought you would be. That really hurt me a lot. But I’ve had a lot of time to think too, and now I know that me hurting myself over that is just really selfish of me.”

“Oh?” Esther smiled a little.

“You’re not the Pokémon I thought you would be. But that’s only because I never knew you – the _real_ you. If we’re going to travel together, I should get to know the real you. So I want to know why you got so upset about what Athens did to me.”

Esther hesitated and leaned back with a sigh. Her eyes were shut, but her paws were relaxed. “When I first met Phoenix, it was the first time in my life where I’d seen a Pokémon and thought: I wanna be just like them. He was already an agent for King’s Shield by then, but his looks still caught my eyes anyway.”

“Oh, you have feelings for Phoenix?” Infia said, putting her paws together. She was blushed a little too, while Lute could only blink.

“The thing is, working for Brayen, I had been brought up to never want a romantic relationship. Well, like, he taught me that I never needed a romantic partner. He used to kinda force that rule upon me, but because he’s kinda my Dad, I always respected it. So it also felt like a sinful thought, you know?”

“Wait a minute. Brayen is your father?” Infia said.

“Oh right, I should’ve started from the top. Yeah, I come from a weird line of inbred Pikachu that are all talented in some way. My parents were doctors, wrestlers, rock stars, some weird talented history. Point is, all I ever did was my work as a pop star, and the reward I got was Brayen looking after me,” she said. Her paws clenched into fists. “But I was his robot. I made him money by following his orders, and never got to know anyone. But when my career got him super famous and I started to play big shows in places like this, I got to see fans. Pokémon who looked up to me. Pokémon who lived terrible lives, where my fake smile and my music gave them genuine hope.”

“Don’t you enjoy singing?” Infia said.

“I do I do. But it was all robotic to me. I did it because I had to, because I was told to. I never got to meet these Pokémon until I got super famous. So I started getting rebellious. I went outta my way to meet these Pokémon, do signings, go on dates, hang out, get treated, that sort of a thing. Fluffy Cheeks happened to become my security for one show, and that was when I got to talk to him,” she said. She shivered and looked down. “I saw myself in him, you know? The agents just ordered him to do stuff, and he did it without question. He could barely talk back then. It just, disgusted me so much. Finding out that he was Pokémon Spirle altered to become this, it made loving him complex. I don’t wanna believe that he’s some robot.”

“Esther,” Infia said.

“I don’t wanna believe that you’re some robot, either. You have a personality, you have friends and all that stuff, you know?”

“I get it. But… I’m sorry, I just- I’m useless. If I really do have these useful powers that will let me help everyone against Spirle, then I want to learn about them. This might be the first time I get to be useful to other Pokémon. That’s all I want. So I don’t mind this,” Infia said. Esther swung a fist back and hit the wall behind her.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re not useless!” She sounded like she was going to cry. “When you first came to my show, you were on a date, weren’t you? And you became my fan. You were alive. Who cares if other Pokémon think that’s ‘useless’ or whatever? You’re you, you’re living. Can’t you Pokémon just find your own self-worth and live the life you want to live?”

Infia struggled to reply, and gasped when Esther leaned over to link their paws. “Infia. Athens and that lot say that you’re a V Pocket and that you can be a secret weapon against Spirle. But that’s what _they_ want you to be. I want to know what _you_ want to do with your life, and whatever that is, you should do it.”

Infia went bright red and looked away. She uttered a few sounds. “I don’t know what I want to do. All I know is I want to help Pokémon.”

“That’s enough. That’s all it takes, and that’s okay. You have your whole life to figure it out,” Esther said. She wiped her eyes and joined Infia in admiring the city below. “Wait a minute. You didn’t just say that because of the Risen, did you?”

“N-no. I didn’t know there was- that is a Risen!” Infia gasped.

“A Risen?” Lute said, and gulped as he looked over. Screams and cries were sounding out as a large blob of brown began to fill the street. The monster’s sludgy roar could just about be heard as well, and the swings of its bulky arms gave away its threat. “How did a Risen get into the city?”

“I dunno, but I’m not gonna stand here and let it do its thing,” Esther said as she pulled her ribbon baton from below her tutu. “Infia. If you give me your Helping Hand, I might be able to take it out from here.”

“From here?” Lute cried.

“Trust a girl. Generations of talented ancestors and inbreeding makes you pretty damn strong,” she said with a fancy pose.

There was hesitation from both Infia and Lute, but Infia got to work and mounted Lute again. “I can’t move when I use Helping Hand. So please carry me, Lute.”

“I-I-I only promise to try,” he said as he forced himself to his feet. “Just don’t look down, just don’t look down, just don’t look down.”

Infia strained and stretched her arms and legs out, and then her whole body glowed with a dim, white outline. Her paws blinked especially bright, and then Esther received that same glow, but only for a brief moment. “V Waves are invisible, so you can’t see the Helping Hand boost taking effect. But I promise you, it’s there. I’m doing my best.”

“Sweet. Then it’s my turn to do my best, too!” Esther said, and then dove headfirst off the roof. Lute and Infia screamed, the former only able to stick a paw out.

Now in freefall, Esther flipped and spun with style, surrounding herself in the pink strand of her ribbon. Once she had enough speed, she looked like a pink arrow beaming toward the ground, helped by a burst of electricity she surrounded herself with. She kept the blade of her baton pointed straight, and then slammed right into the head of the Risen. Her impact spread electricity in a dome-shaped blast.

Any Pokémon in the area could only shield themselves from the nasty splatter of mud that came from her explosive attack. Sophitia and Phoenix had just arrived, but avoided getting swamped over as the mud flooded everything. Esther was left in the middle of a pool of it, and was laughing despite being neck-deep.

“Esther! What in the world?” Sophitia cried. She and Phoenix could only gawk as the Pikachu lost herself to laughter even more. She didn’t even stop by the time Lute and Infia returned.

“Wait, she actually did it. All this mud, that’s the Risen, right? Infia, your Helping Hand worked like crazy,” Lute said. She slowly got off him and examined for herself, but cringed from the cold, jelly-like touch.

“Wait, so all of this is Risen sludge? We got the call there was an emergency, but wow. Way to go taking care of it by yourselves. But why did the Risen blow up into all this goop? This looks gross!” Sophitia said. She dipped a feeler in and recoiled right away.

Esther’s laughter seemed to slow for a moment, making Sophitia look up at her. The slyest smile was on her face, with thin eyes and closed fists dripping with mud. “Wait, what’re you- oh no, do not even think about getting that stuff on me, if you dare I swear to gods—”

“Mud fight!” Esther screamed and she dashed over to the Sylveon. Lute and Infia were the speechless ones now, watching the duo scramble and wrestle one another. Sophitia was caught with ease and smothered in mud, earning screams and squeals. The duo still ended up fighting, but that quickly turned into laughter and playful aggression.

“And to think we were concerned for you,” Phoenix said when the duo calmed down. That didn’t stop Esther from throwing herself on him, covering him in mud as well. He didn’t react.

“At least she’s feeling better?” Lute laughed nervously.

“She’s so weird,” Infia groaned.

“What in the world is going on here?” Lassic’s voice boomed.

“Oh great. Here comes the fun police,” Esther said.

“Your idea of fun is blocking roads? We need to get this cleaned up. Leave this to us. You have your orders, so go and get to work,” the Delphox said. There was a moment of silence where he stared at the messy girls. He cleared his throat and began to sweat. “_After_ you clean up and get presentable.”

“Oh lighten up. When you win against a scary monster like a Risen, you’ve gotta celebrate.” Esther skipped over to Lute’s side and shook herself off. “And by the way, I don’t care for all your orders, either. If you ain’t gonna do anything about the seasons, then me and my friends are gonna go awaken those temples whether you like it or not.”

“Esther,” Lute said.

“What do you mean? Those are government orders.” Lassic’s face grew tighter.

“What she means is, until you can present a solid solution to the issue, we will continue our journey,” Phoenix said. “You warn us about the destruction of society but fail to present any evidence that it will actually happen. Meanwhile, the world around us begins to whither, devoid of sunlight, rain, wind and all. We won’t ignore the issue when the solution is directly in front of us.”

“Can I take this as a declaration of your departure from King’s Shield?” Lassic said.

“Easy. None of us are against each other here.” Sophitia joined their side. “Remember that I’m the one pulling the strings here, Lassic. We only want to help the world. So we’ll look into this a bit more and come up with a solution on our own paws. We’ll let you know if we can or can’t go through with the legend or not.”

“Aww what? Sophie, you’re putting us against each other,” Esther whined.

“We cannot disobey a direct order from the president of Aseria. This isn’t something he’d lie about, would he?” she said. Everyone shared unsure glances. “Exactly. So enough about disobeying orders, and let’s go after the actual issue on our hands: Spirle. We have the means to fight them, so let’s find ‘em.”

…

One trip through the Deposit Box later and the group arrived at their destination: Everend. They popped out in front of the school, surprised to find it closed for apparent renovations.

“Okay, so we’ve got more than enough time to head back to the temple, what do you say?” Sophitia said.

“Wait what?” Lute replied.

“Alright, go Sophie!” Esther said.

“Wait wait wait, but you just said we weren’t going to- wait, are we following King’s Shield or Naivie?” Lute said.

“Oh Lute, keep up! Can’t be a dimwit here, too. Of course we’re following Naivie. That’s the quest to become the heroes of Aseria, why’d we ever pass that up?” Sophitia giggled as she brushed him with a feeler. “To be honest, I’m surprised that Lassic even brought it. I sounded so unconvincing.”

“Well if I had any faith in you, it’s looking pretty renewed right now,” Naivie said, popping up in front of them. “But I do still question what you’re going to do about your strength. A bunch of petty criminals is one thing, but that Eevee was a whole different thing.”

“Yeah, he really put us in a spot last time. I wasn’t planning to throw myself at him again, so I thought of a plan,” Sophitia said. “If everything Athens told us about Infia is true, then that means her Helping Hand should give us the means to damage him.”

“I can confirm! Infia let me beat that giant Risen in one hit,” Esther said, tucking her paws behind her head as they walked. The Minun blushed and shuffled away.

“Add in that attack that Lute used that paralysed the Eevee. We might actually have the tools to fight powerful enemies, we just need to know a little more about each other,” Sophitia said.

“I dunno how I did that, though. What if it’s just a paralyse chance?” Lute said.

“Only one way to find out. Either way, I’m willing to give it another battle. Strategy: Lute, you can carry Infia while she supports the rest of us fighters. The two of you will power us up with Helping Hand and slow down the enemy with paralysis. And if all goes wrong, I brought a few orbs from the Kecleon Market so we can escape.”

“Oh wow. Someone’s taking this seriously,” Naivie said.

“Well what’re we waitin’ for? We can’t lose!” Esther said.

“We can! Wha-what if my move isn’t good enough, or—” Lute cried.

“I said, we can’t lose,” Esther said, leaning closer to the Eevee. He moaned and looked away, to which she giggled. “Don’t worry! You’ve seen us fight. We’re no slouch, we’ll make this look easy. Trust us!”

Lute kept quiet since no one else was objecting. Losing the battle wasn’t really what he was worried about, however. It was Lassic’s plea and certainty that they might be tearing down everything he had built up for society.

Esther didn’t relay what she had spoken to Infia and Lute about, instead going back to her cheery self. If not for that however, Lute might not have gotten the chance to sink back behind the group and think to himself again. He looked up while they walked, his feelings matched by the sky. Dull, colourless, and rigid as far as the eye could see.

He had gotten used to this stale weather and the fog that smothered him in chilly air. That wasn’t a good thing, so much so that he longed to see it feel different in any other way. Fixing the weather was a huge priority for him, but if it meant destroying the society of V Wave technology, was it worth it?

Sure, Sophitia was right – Lassic didn’t show any evidence that V Waves could disappear. But she was also right in that the Delphox had zero reason to lie about it, either. If there was a chance that his ‘heroic’ actions could end up destroying the wonderful world they had, then was it really worth it?

He shook his head. He had to find out somehow.

“Hey, Naivie. I hope you don’t mind me asking—” he said.

“I do mind.”

He paused. “Uh, you don’t even know what the question’s about.”

“But it’s you. It’s gonna be something stupid,” she said.

“Wow. Who woke you up this morning?” Sophitia rolled her eyes. “Go ahead, Lute.”

“When the four temples are awakened, what actually happens?” he said.

“The seasons return. That’s all there is to it.” Naivie squinted.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but there must be a reason Lassic is against you. Do V Waves stop working, or do some natural disasters happen, or any kind of trade-off?” he said.

“Oh gods, time away from the legend has warped all sorts of facts. Don’t you guys know the tradition?” Naivie said.

“Nope. In fact, you barely explained it to us,” Esther said.

“What? Then why in the world would you follow me? Why listen and go this far if you don’t fully understand what you’re getting into? Only a fool does that,” Naivie said. Lute and Sophitia froze.

“It’s kinda hard not to assume you’re telling the truth when you come outta a giant beam of light and stuff. You came from the teleportal when I got near it. That means I triggered your awakening, right?” Esther said. Naivie went quiet, and then sat on Lute’s head.

“Listen to me, you lot. All V Waves come from a powerful thing called the Mega Stone. And the Mega Stone is what allows the laws of nature to function in Aseria. Stuff like the weather, plants, and even systematic stuff like Pokémon evolution,” she said. “The main source of release for V Waves is actually the ancient flowers, which were connected directly to the Mega Stone. In the past, Pokémon respected these giant flowers because they gave Pokémon energy and power, what you Pokémon now call ‘V Waves’.”

“But the flowers are wilted now and the temples are in Moand Dia. Does that mean Moand Dia is an ancient society?” Lute said.

“Impressive. Yep, your modern generation buried the world of the ancients and changed to use technology, not knowing that you were exhausting a non-sustainable energy. Skip forward some thousands of years, and now there’s so little energy that Aseria is dying and the seasons aren’t functioning,” Naivie said, launching off of Lute to glare at everyone. “There are six of you chosen by fate, those who would understand the importance of the Mega Stone and its flowers enough to resurrect them. That’s what we’re going to do. Bring back the flowers and restore your source of uh, V Waves.”

Lute rubbed his chin. “But that’s not a sustainable method.”

“Knew you were gonna test me with that. The flowers are Shaymin, Lute. You know about Shaymin, right? All you have to do is be thankful for them, for the world they let you live in. You’ve already been doing it,” Naivie said, hitting him on the nose. “Bless the Shaymin by showing them your gratitude. And when you guys become parents, get your kids to do the same. Make a new generation of Pokémon who bless nature and are thankful for it. With this blissful way of life maintained, the flowers will never wither again.”

“Wait whoa whoa whoa, whoever said anything about having kids? I don’t want any children!” Esther cried.

“Don’t give me that rubbish. The rate you get horny, I’m surprised you don’t have any already!” Naivie said.

“Hey c’mon, I’m not _that_ pervy!” she cried.

“Okay, no. We’re not talking about this,” Sophitia said. “Naivie! You said there were six heroes. But there’s only five of us.”

“I know, I’m not blind!” Naivie raised her voice. She calmed down at everyone’s surprised looks. “You just so happen to not need the sixth to do what you need to do. They definitely help, but from what my observations have gathered, it’s better you’re separated for now.”

“So you know who it is?” Lute said.

“Don’t bother. They won’t join you now or anytime soon. But they’re doing their part. I’ve made sure,” she said. “So, are you still feeling apprehensive about me? Got a million questions about the temples again?”

“Not now, I admit. Sorry about that, Naivie,” Lute said.

“Good. You won’t win fights unless you’re certain,” she said.

Once they arrived at the temple, there was quiet and concentration when Sophitia sent them through the teleportal. Phoenix and Esther were first to stand guard, weapons bared and stances ready. The cold of the cave hit them all enough to make everyone tremble a bit, but it wasn’t anything that would weaken them now. In Lute’s case, he took in a deep breath and shivered as he scanned the area, though there was no change from the bluish, cold cavern.

“Wait that’s weird. Phoenix, are you getting that too?” Sophitia said.

“He’s not present. The Eevee isn’t here,” he said.

“Seriously?” Esther said. She gave it another moment to be sure, and then nodded. “Huh. Guess he flew south for the winter.”

“There is no winter. And Eevee can’t fly.” Infia palmed her face.

“I know! That’s what makes it funny to imagine,” she giggled.

“Wait are you serious? You did all of this just to come back here and he’s _not_ guarding the temple anymore? The heck’s up with that?” Naivie cried. “I almost want him to come out now.”

“Let’s not! If that Eevee’s not here, then now’s our chance, right? Let’s awaken the temple,” Lute said.

“He’s probably patrolling this section of Moand Dia, and is too far away to sense or something. Either way, Lute’s got a point. Let’s get this done,” Sophitia said, leading them deeper inside.

The area was exactly as they had left it last time. Six markings surrounding a single spot of soil, where Naivie plopped herself when they arrived. The group took their positions and nodded to each other.

“You just told us to pray last time, but is there anything in particular?” Lute said.

“We just need your gratitude, really. Close your eyes, calm your thoughts, and respectfully ask for a blessing,” she said. “And whatever you do, don’t stop until I say so, no matter what happens, okay?”

They nodded to her, and then she got started. The tiny Carbink closed her eyes, went rigid, and began to let out a cry of increasing volume. Her gemstones brightened and glowed with light, which gave her with a fiery appearance. Blue flames lingered over her for a moment, and then shot into the soil below, where they seeped through the markings on the floor and lit up the room. Lute felt a slight fear when the flames reached him, but they turned out to be harmless, even as they surrounded him.

Naivie on the other hand, the Carbink was soon crying out in pain. He thought it a mistake at first until she began to twitch and gasp between her cries as the ritual went on. The flames had created a circuit of energy between everyone, but all the energy was being sucked from Naivie and into the soil below.

“Naivie!” Lute stuck a paw out.

“Focus damn it! Don’t you dare,” she said. He couldn’t bear to see her like this, to hear her struggle and resist so desperately.

That was until his own head felt a sudden jolt of discomfort. He gritted his fangs and trembled with irritation as a painful, electric-like jolt streamed its way through his head. His thoughts scattered and his body lost strength, but not painfully, as if he was rapidly growing tired enough to fall asleep. Seconds later, his vision was replaced by nothing but white.

…

…

“_That’s it. Stand firm and strong. It must be tough for you to stand on four feet, but you’ll get used to it. That’s a promise,_” a young woman’s voice said, soothing and calm. A Sylveon with blue fur was stood on shaky legs, and their feelers were tucked in tight. Two small palms were on the Sylveon’s back, rubbing it softly.

“_Be brave now. You know how to control your body. Extend. Relax. Let the energy flow through your body. Exercise your appendages and feel the fairy magic pulse through you._” The voice said.

The Sylveon was a girl, but their voice was young and infantile. She didn’t say anything, but there were petty moans and shivering breaths coming from her. Still on a shaky stance, she managed to extend her feelers and raise all four of them above her head.

“_That’s it now. Relax. Take it easy, relax. Just hold it there. Marvel at the feeling. Keep the magic flowing. You can do it,_” the voice said, as they removed their hands from Sylveon’s back. The tips of her feelers began to get surrounded in pink, swirling dust, which glowed with energy for a Fairy Wind attack.

But that was as far as she got. The Sylveon squealed and fell onto her side. She was wailed like a baby while kicking and squealing with every foot and feeler.

“_There there now. You’ve done amazingly._”


	20. The Sixth Hero

Lute was the first to come to. He awakened with a frightening awareness that returned to him in a flash. One moment he was gone from the world, the next, fully aware that he had fainted and sprung to his feet.

“Sophitia? Everyone?” He glanced at their collapsed bodies. They all seemed to wake up at the same time, so he sighed. He turned his attention to the surroundings instead, and quickly concluded that they were still in the temple.

“What was that all about? I feel like I slept in a wet barrel or something,” Esther said as she stretched her back. “Everybuddy alright?”

“Stiff, but I’m okay,” Infia said.

“Awake,” Phoenix said.

“I think we’re all dead inside. Did we at least do it?” Sophitia said. “Naivie. Where’s Naivie?”

“Oh yeah, Naivie. Where’s- what is that?” Lute cried. He choked on a breath as he realised he was stood in the shadow of a towering plant. Whatever this blooming flower was, it would make a Wailord look like a Joltik in comparison, or that was at least how Lute felt about it. Massive broad leaves hung above them while roots appeared to have torn through the rock, claiming a pot for the plant in the cave floor. The pink bud of the plant hadn’t fully flowered, where a few of the leaves cradled it protectively.

“Holy Miltank look at the size of that thing!” Esther cried, falling back.

“I-is that really the ancient flower? I wasn’t expecting it to be massive,” Sophitia said.

“What were you expecting it to be?” Naivie said.

“I dunno. Something a little more magical and not as intimida- Naivie! You’re okay?” Sophitia gasped.

“Intimidating? Man, you Pokémon sure are weak if you’re getting intimidated by a little giant flower,” the Carbink said. “Thanks for passing out, too. You only left me bored for a good several hours. I’ll have to charge you for sleeping on hotel property.”

“Little giant used to describe one thing. Now I’ve heard it all,” Esther said.

“Look, here. See that sleeping cutie here? That’s a Shaymin.” Naivie brought everyone’s attention to the tiny creature at the foot of the flower. It was a hedgehog Pokémon half of Lute’s size, but instead of spines, a smooth, vivid green grass covered its back. Its body was white and plump, and was curled up to sleep comfortably. Between the Shaymin and the ancient flower, it was as if the two were mimicking each other, coiled up and hugging themselves for comfort.

“We won’t be able to wake it up now, but this is the physical manifestation of the ancient flower’s will. While the flower is alive, the Shaymin will also be. But the flower is asleep now, as you can see. So none of your precious V Waves will come out of it just yet,” Naivie said.

“So how do we make it? Or at least, will the weather be better?” Lute said.

“The Shaymin all have to wake up in perfect sync, or the seasons will be out of order and stuff. That’d be a bigger disaster. So, we have to plant all four seeds and grow the flowers first. You’ve done this one, so three to go,” Naivie said. “It’s not all bleak, though. You should notice some changes in the weather. I hope that’s good enough for you.”

“Aww, I was excited to say hi to the cutie. She looks adorable,” Esther said, crouched by the Shaymin. “Let’s get outta here. I feel like I could eat a whole Grumpig.”

“You as well? Lucky us, not getting jumped by that powerful Eevee, too. I still can’t sense him at all,” Sophitia said.

“That’s a good thing, right? Let’s get out of here while it stays that way,” Lute said.

As soon as they got outside, Lute couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. The fog was still heavy in the area, and if anything, was even heavier than before. Just when he felt they would be making a step forward, things remained unchanged.

“U-um, Lute, can you carry me?” Esther said. He raised an eyebrow while everyone else turned to her, making her blush. “I-i-it’s nothing really, I’m just like, dying of hunger back here. I don’t think I can walk very far, that’s how hungry I am!”

“I mean I’m starving too, but isn’t that just exaggerating? But fine, I’ll carry you,” Sophitia said, stretching her feelers over.

“Na-uh, it has to be Lute!” Esther said.

“Esther.” Phoenix rolled his eyes.

Oh. I didn’t take you for the lazy type,” Naivie said.

“It’s not lazy! I’m genuinely too hungry to go far, that’s all. And I’d love it if a big strong male were to help me out a bit of the way, nothin’ more, nothin’ less,” Esther said.

“Big strong male and Lute in the same sentence is _hilarious_ to think about. In fact it’s so hilarious that nobody’s laughing,” Naivie said.

“Why me?” he sighed.

Esther paused for a moment, and then moaned. “Oh stuff it, life’s too short to play blind Zubat.”

“Esther? Wah!” he cried as she dove on top of him. She latched to his mane and wrapped both paws around his neck.

“You handled me last time, you can do it here, too.” She giggled at his bothered groan.

The others were palming their faces and shaking their heads too, but chose to ignore her as they made their way back to Everend. Lute took note of Phoenix’s especially frustrated look, however. The way the Fennekin silently snarled and turned away, he felt guilty for it, despite not knowing why.

Their return home was as degrading as the trip to the temple. Lute was silent and smothered by negative thoughts about the weather, though he also thought hard about how he failed to stay awake during the prayer. He was sick of getting into these situations where he had to put effort into something, only to pass out despite his efforts to stay strong. It was like no matter what he did, his body would remind him of how weak he truly was.

Even when they made it home and Marina met them all with celebrations and a grand meal, he couldn’t bring himself to pay attention to everyone’s merriment. Naivie’s comment was surely a joke, but it stung, hard. It was far beyond a joke how much he struggled, and if he was still serious about becoming a hero, then he needed to make a miracle happen. Those thoughts followed him all the way until bedtime. He sat in his bed and stared at the wall while battling these thoughts the whole time.

“_Tomorrow, I put in one hundred and fifty percent._” He kept telling himself. He envisioned battles and situations similar to what he had been through recently, and what he could do to deal with them. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Esther sneak up to cuddle him from behind. The moment she did, he flew into a frenzy and threw his tail high into the air.

“Wah, wait Lute stop it’s only—” she cried.

“Get off!” he screamed as he balanced on his front feet. He spun with astonishing force to throw his attacker into the wall so hard they stuck there, upside-down. “A-ah! Esther?”

“Whoa, Lute! Cool move. Where’d you pull that one from?” Sophitia said.

“Right when he didn’t need it, too,” Naivie said. Now he definitely felt guilty.

“E-Esther I’m so sorry, you surprised me and stuff.” He rushed over to her. She sunk to the floor, her eyes swirling.

“No worries. ‘Twas a good counter,” she gurgled.

Lute gulped and stepped away, shuddering as silence took over the room. He dared to glance at Phoenix, and met that fierce, overly aggressive gaze. “I-I need to go out for a little bit. Sorry.”

“Lute,” Sophitia said as he left, but he ignored her.

Thankfully for him, Marina wasn’t in the front room, allowing him to quietly stroll right out. Everend was dark and quiet, but lit just enough for him to wander around to the back of the house where there was space. He looked around for a few moments to ensure he wasn’t followed and that all was silent, and then let out a breath.

Here, he would throw out his attacks and try to replicate that electric move he used. To master his attacks, or at least give them enough power to damage another Pokémon; that was his aim. That was his aim until he walked a little further to the next house over and bumped into Infia, who was hugged up against the wall.

“L-Lute?” she gasped.

“Infia?” he said.

Neither said a word for a moment. Seconds later, he realised he was staring and looked away.

“I didn’t expect to find you here. I didn’t even realise you weren’t in the house. You’re so quiet sometimes,” he said with a blush.

“Sorry. I won’t intrude. I didn’t know you go out like this,” she said, doing the same.

“No no, you’re not in the way. This is sort of new to me, too,” he said.

“Oh.”

Another moment of silence.

“Uh, this is sort of the first time we’ve gotten to talk alone since you-know-what happened… Sorry about that. So much has been going on. How’ve you been?” he said.

“I’m okay. I’m just worried about being useful. The V Pocket stuff really upset Esther. And you too, didn’t it?” she said. She played with her paws and twiddled her feet as she spoke.

“I don’t fully get it, but if it means you have all these cool powers, then that’s great, right?” he said, and walked around to sit with her by the wall. She kept her head down and eyes closed. “Did you know about it?”

She didn’t answer.

“Uh, I came out here because I’m feeling weak, too. Esther, Sophitia, and Phoenix are so confident in their fighting, and their attacks actually do damage and stuff. I wanted to start practicing so that mine could do damage, too. If we’re both going to get stronger, then why don’t we train together?” he said.

She slowly looked up, holding her skirt down.

“Hey, Lute? Do you trust everyone?” she said.

“Huh?” he said, not expecting the question. “Of course I do. Legend brought us together. If we didn’t trust each other, the whole world would be in danger.”

“But you asked if I knew I was a V Pocket. If I did know, that would mean I’m still keeping secrets from you. And you suspected that,” she said.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way! Even if you did know, I wouldn’t blame you for keeping it secret. It’s the same as the underwear thing, there’s no need for everyone to know, so you didn’t tell anyone. I-I was just sort of nosy there, that’s all.” He scratched his face. “I’m nosy about what you being a V Pocket really means, too. Athens didn’t specify other than Helping Hand.”

He tried to lighten to mood with a little giggle, but she stayed silent. He struggled to look at her as a result and wished that she would say something, anything that could get him moving. But she didn’t, and long enough for him to start sweating and clear his throat. “U-um, what’s on your mind? If you want to talk about it, that is.”

“I can’t explain it. It’s some kind of feeling,” she said so softly he barely heard her. She stood up with a sudden determination in her eyes, and clenched her paws into fists. “Lute. I want to try something with you. But I need you to trust me with this.”

“You know I trust you. What’s wrong?” he said.

She stuttered on a word, and then leaned away, her face growing brighter than a tomato. “Oh gosh, this is really embarrassing. I don’t know if this will actually work and if it doesn’t, it’s going to look really, _really_ weird.”

“Well, what is it? I can be okay with it if I know what’s up.” He tilted his head.

“I can’t explain it. It really is just… there’s something I know I can do and know how to do, but I don’t know how to do it? Like this feeling that something’s in my code. That small moment when I was in that liquid Athens put me in, it gave me an epiphany,” she said as she paced. She smiled awkwardly at him, still blushing. “It’s also super embarrassing for some reason, too.”

“O-kay?” he replied.

“Are you really okay with me trying it with you?” she said.

“If it’s bugging you, then it can’t hurt to try, can it?” He smiled.

“Okay. Thank you, Lute,” she breathed out. “St-stand up on your hind legs, please.”

“I can’t stand for long, but I’m trying,” he said. He used the wall for balance, but he still wasn’t able to stay still.

“Okay, here goes,” she said as she skipped a few paces back. She took a deep breath, and then that determined look in her eyes came back.

At this point, Lute played along with her because he wanted the awkwardness to end. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but since he was with Infia, nothing he expected could have been bad in any way. That was until she crouched and rose up with steady, rhythmic sways of her paws.

She danced to her feet, and he was very quickly reminded of how good of a dancer she was… and how beautiful she looked in his eyes. Her paws, her feet, her skirt, her ears, and the serene look on her face – when she danced, everything impressed him on a level that stole his breath and focus. The whole world seemed to vanish around her as passion exuded from her perfectly coordinated movements. She was controlling that world by moving in perfect harmony with her surroundings, swaying and drawing curves with her paws as if to pull the very elements of nature toward her.

Lute could see the artistic style in those moves instantly, and he loved it. What he didn’t realise was that unlike the last time he saw her dance, she was edging towards him, and once close enough, made him a part of her moves. She was crouched right by his hind feet at one point, rose up, and then linked their paws in an aggressively intimate manner. Their faces were close enough to feel one another’s breath, which drove all the heat in his body to his cheeks.

She didn’t seem to be bothered at all, though. That fact made him keep quiet besides an overwhelmingly nervous utter, even when she continued to move. She danced with him, their paws linked and legs tangled in such a way that he feared he might backflip somehow. But Infia prevented it, guiding him the same way she guided those natural elements in her dance. He let her guide him, but his breath gradually became unsettled. He hit turmoil when she broke into a spin, and their paws wound up wrapped around one another in a romantic embrace.

That wasn’t even the last of it. She bent him back and nuzzled his nose, which of course he recoiled and fell to the floor. It didn’t hurt or anything, but the loss of balance made his heart jump. That shock took him back to reality, and he finally realised exactly where he was. She was sat on top of him with their paws linked together, digits interlocked and all. Her eyes were shut so he wondered if she even realised what she was doing, but when she began to lean in, his mind screamed code red.

“Gah, okay okay okay, that’s it that’s enough!” He tensed up.

She froze at his cry, but moments before their faces would reconnect – if that was what she was planning to do. Her eyes shot open, and her whole body went just as rigid. Just then, for a lengthy moment, Lute felt a powerful jolt of fear caused by her. Her eyes were flickering. Not blinking, but flickering with static within the irises. Her eyes looked like a computer screen that was swarming with multicoloured graphical glitches, but when she blinked after a moment, they went right back to normal.

“Oh my gosh, ah,” she squeaked. She flinched back and screamed, but jammed her paws in her mouth as she stumbled away. She tripped over and tried to hide herself from view, pulling her shirt over her reddened face.

“I-Infia?” Lute said, jaw-dropped.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry aah, why did I think it’d work? It didn’t work I’m so sorry,” she cried. She had become a complete wreck of discord, shuddering, blushing, unable to stand up straight, and tears fell from her eyes. Seeing that, Lute composed himself but the moment he rolled over to stand up, she was off and crying out loud.

“Aw, Infia,” he said, and blinked. He looked back and forth, and then growled. “Damn it, all the girls are going nuts!”

…

The next morning, Infia avoided Lute of course. He didn’t care though, as he resumed his attempt at training after her departure. The late night left him yawning at breakfast, but aware enough to take part in the conversation. The important parts that Naivie had to tell them, not the questions about why he was so sleepy or why Infia avoided him.

Their next destination was Angard. Despite the city being drained of all life, according to Naivie, the place was still home to a functioning temple where an ancient flower could be grown. Esther and Phoenix already confirmed the existence of a Teleportal there as well, so perhaps there was more to the ruins now that Naivie was with them.

And so, after a restock of supplies and a wave of good luck from Marina, they began their next trip. They remembered the rule of not being allowed to transport there using the Deposit Box, which meant they had to use a time consuming gondola. Sophitia seemed to lose all strength once they set foot on the vehicle, Esther went about trying to ride Lute’s back again, and all the other bits of banter he had grown used to killed the time.

“O-okay, looks like we’re arriving in two. I’m still surprised that a place like this has a gondola station,” Sophitia said, still crouched by the seats.

“It may be that the transport was already there before the country withered. With the gondolas still functioning, there isn’t much reason to remove the station,” Phoenix said. “There are a few theories like that around.”

“But who’d wanna go to a run-down joint like this? You guys could’ve at least tried to spruce it up rather than being lazy,” Naivie said.

“Gen sort of stops anyone from doing that,” Lute said. “She’s serious about preserving this country’s state.”

“Plus, it makes for a pretty interesting place to explore, ya’know? We might’ve never run into you if I wasn’t so nosy,” Esther said.

“Hmm. I’ll never understand you Pokémon. You do such weird stuff sometimes,” Naivie said, settling on Lute’s head.

When they arrived, a curious look around unveiled that the gondola station was as small as expected. Just two platforms for arrivals and departures, with each trip nearly an hour apart. The station was devoid of staff too, which meant the one conversation going on when they arrived was noticed immediately. Lute dashed out into the one room the station had, but still had to look left to right for the Pokémon he could hear.

“It is Gen. Hi,” he called out once he spotted her. She was with another Pokémon, and they both went quiet when they saw everyone.

“Wait a minute, you’re that guy,” Sophitia said, hopping to Lute’s side.

Besides the Meowstic was a Chespin, the same burly guy they were with when they rescued Infia. He responded to Sophitia with a cocky smile and the boasting of muscle, to which Gen palmed her face.

”The one and only. Fancy meeting you kids here… provided I knew who you were,” he said.

“What’re you doing?” Gen said.

“You do know us. Remember the Radial Castle? The fight against that giant Risen that fused?” Sophitia said. Chespin looked to the side, then lit up.

“Oh yeah. That mess. That was a while ago. Good to see the little girl’s still alive and kicking,” he said, and approached. “Now then, let’s not beat around the bush, ‘cos we’re always busy here. What’re you here for?”

“Are you serious? We’re the ones with a bone to pick with you,” Sophitia said. “What was with all that when we left? And what’s with that attitude now?”

“So it’s a fight? You want to fight me?” Chespin said.

“Carry on like that, and maybe I will,” Sophitia said.

“Glad to hear it. And maybe you’ll gimme a workout, too!” he laughed.

“Oh no you freaking don’t.” Gen pulled the Chespin by one of his leaves. That made him yelp and cringe, but he pulled back on her.

“Baby, please! They’re the ones who challenged me,” he said.

“I’m not your baby. And remember what I told you about the hot-headed stuff? When you act like an ass and fight everything in sight, I’m the one that takes the heat for it in repairing this place,” Gen said. “So get your head in the game. Besides, these kids aren’t enemies.”

“We’re here because of the legend of Aseria. We can awaken the ancient flowers and restore the seasons and V Waves,” Lute said. “Sorry for intruding in Angard again.”

“Again?” Chespin folded his arms.

“Yes, again. I told you they were here. And _you_ didn’t tell them your name, either,” Gen said.

“Mercenary’s code. Either way, you believe them?” he said.

“Oh come on, you knew we were coming! I already told you in advance,” Naivie said, popping up between them. “Seriously, I’ve had it up to here with you. Can you not be a pain to work with for one minute?”

“Well pardon me for deciding to live my life rather than go full hobo.” Chespin looked away.

“Is that why you came back, honey? To work with everyone?” Gen said.

“Of course not. I came back to see you, my lovely wife who spends every minute worrying about my wellbeing.” He put his arms around her.

“Oh behave yourself. We have guests,” she said. She still allowed him to bring her into a hug, where they shared a quick but flaunty kiss.

“What, it’s true. You’re not gonna deny you’re happy to see me, are you?”

“It’s been too long, but there’s a time and a place. Later, you big dolt.”

“Aww wow, they’re just the cutest icon,” Esther said.

“You and I have a _very_ different definition of cute,” Sophitia groaned. “Can we get going? If possible, I’d like not to spend the night here.”

“Yuck. Love stuff is so gross,” Lute muttered.

“Pardon us. He can be a real idiot sometimes,” Gen said, leading the way. “What exactly are you all looking for?”

“A temple used by ancients. Apparently, there’s a Teleportal there. It’s like this big shiny platform,” Lute said.

“I know what a Teleportal is. I’ll take you there. Hope you don’t mind a walk,” Gen said.

“Gen honey, you’re way too trusting,” Chespin said.

“Naivie being here tells me all I need to know. And if I’m reading between the lines correctly, you and Naivie already know what’s going on,” she said. She tucked her paws behind her back. “You six are the ones responsible for the Radial Tower flying off. And now your journey has brought you here.”

“That’s right! Wow, you’re good,” Esther said.

“But how did you know?” Infia said.

“Oh, right. You’ve not met me before, have you? My name is Gen. I am a Pokémon who lives in the past in this modern era,” The Meowstic reintroduced herself. She gave her bright yellow dress a loose brush. “I know all about Aseria’s old ways. The ancient flowers, the guardian Naivie, the Mega Stone and Aseria’s champions… I’m not surprised at all to see foretold events taking place.”

“And you’re also aware that Spirle wanna mess about in any petty way that they can. Run your mouth too much to everybody, and one of ‘em is sure to find out something they shouldn’t,” Chespin said.

“Do you have to be so antagonistic? I really don’t like you,” Sophitia said.

“I’m only spouting facts,” he said, smiling cheekily.

“And you still haven’t told us your name!” Sophitia said.

“As obnoxious as he seems right now, this guy is my husband. And he’s got just as much love for ancient Aseria as I do” Gen smiled. Lute was surprised to see how angelic the Meowstic looked all of a sudden, as if a sense of genuine, relaxed happiness had taken over her whole being. “That’s why you were chosen, wasn’t it, Kuri?”

“Aw geez, my name and everything,” Kuri rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get edgy on me now. If you knew, I wish you’d told me sooner. I’m super relieved to know that Aseria is in good hands,” she said.

“I’m selective with information, Gen. Seriously, you can’t just go around telling these guys everything about me,” Kuri said. “Yes, I’m one of the heroes of Aseria. But I’m not a _hero_. I’m here to do this task and then go about my real mission.”

“What’s—” Sophitia said.

“Don’t even bother asking.” He shrugged.

“Just tell us, darn it! You did this last time, too.” Sophitia stopped walking. “I worked with you last time because we had to to save Infia. But now, we know we can grow the ancient flowers without you. So unless you have something really important, I’m happy to leave your edgy butt behind.”

“Huh. Sophitia really does not like him,” Phoenix said.

“_I don’t blame her, to be honest. Something about him just feels off,_” Lute tilted his head. “_But what could be so bad that he doesn’t want to work with us? And not call himself a hero?_”

Kuri was hesitant, but a serious expression took over his look. “I’m a mercenary. I do fighting work for money, from bodyguard stuff to infiltration. Don’t be surprised to learn I’ve got a kill count. I’m pretty sure I’m near the top of Aseria’s most-wanted.”

“Wa-wait, you—” Infia squeaked, shrivelling up.

“I can’t afford to work with a bunch of Agents of King’s Shield, especially when they’re tattletale kids,” he said.

“Do I look like a snotty little snitch to you? But either way, how did someone like you get chosen to be a hero? There has to be a mistake, right Naivie?” Sophitia said.

“The only mistake is you questioning my accuracy. Kuri is a hero, case closed. If you’re gonna bicker about it, then you might as well kill yourselves now,” Naivie said. Everyone silenced. “No more objections? Good. Now get along, kids.”

“Good gods. That one stung,” Sophitia said.

“Even I felt that. And I am not even arguing,” Phoenix said.

“At least try to explain how? I’m not against Mister Kuri coming with us, but I am a bit confused how the heroes get chosen. He doesn’t seem to want to be one,” Esther said.

“The heroes get chosen by fate. But supposedly, it’s those with a passion for the ancient ways of life who will work the hardest to keep Aseria alive,” Genesis said, a paw on her chest. She still seemed happy. “Knowing Kuri, it’s truly an honour to see him become one. I could only wish I got chosen.”

“You’re a little too important for that, don’t you think?” Naivie said.

“Speaking about Kuri,” Gen said, her voice raised suddenly. She calmed down quickly, no longer looking as happy. “If there’s anyone who loves the natural ways of Pokémon as much as I do, it’s him. I have every bit of faith and trust that with him fighting alongside you, your journey will not fail.”

Lute’s thoughts had an explosion, one so sudden that he visually shivered and felt afraid. “Wait a second. If we awaken the flowers, there’ll be more V Waves, right? And then the weather turns back to normal. Why do we need to have an interest in ancient Aseria?”

“I knew this shit would come up. Here we go.” Kuri rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t we answer this already? It just means society has a sustainable resource,” Sophitia said.

“Did the Lassic tell ya that one?” Kuri said.

“Naivie, actually. Lassic told us _not_ to awaken the flowers because technology will stop working if we do,” Lute said.

“Well, he’s right,” Kuri said. Lute felt like he literally froze. “We awaken the flowers, and all of the fancy tech in Aseria stops dead in its path. Lassic’s society will cease to function, and he’s no longer the top of the world.”

“Are you serious?” Lute cried. There was no response. “We can’t do that. If all technology just stopped working, the whole world would be in trouble. There’s nothing heroic about that!”

“Because you don’t have an automatic door, or gondola to travel on?” Kuri said.

“Well… no but… some Pokémon need that stuff. A-a-and life in general is so much better with it all. If it all stopped working suddenly now, Pokémon around the world will suffer for sure,” Lute said.

“You’re a young kid. You’ve been conditioned to believe that you need all this to simplify your lives. The reality is, Pokémon existed way before all of it was invented. We built doors out of nature, and ferried each other across the sea or sky. We can live without technology, but so many Pokémon today rely on it so greatly that they’re practically forgetting that they’re Pokémon altogether,” Kuri said, folding his arms. “The real question should’ve been why _you’re_ a hero. If you value the world as is so greatly, then why are you even here?”

“Hey, don’t test me! I’ve been interested in ancient Aseria, too.” Lute leaned toward him. There was a pause, and he shrunk back. “S-sure, I only know stuff I’ve learnt in school, but… but back then, Aseria was a feral world. Pokémon had to go through great lengths of danger like mystery dungeons just to go to school every day. Now everything’s safer and we don’t have to do things like that. If we go back to that, we’re little better off than we are now.”

“’Little better off’? What’re you, stupid?” Kuri raised his voice. “Look around you! This is Angard. This is a world devoid of nature and weather. The whole world will be like this if we don’t awaken those flowers. Would you rather live in this than learn to fight with Pokémon attacks, the thing every Pokémon is capable of using?”

“Oh boy, this is getting real,” Esther said.

“Lute,” Infia said, but she was silenced by Sophitia slipping a feeler in front of her. She kept Esther and Phoenix back as well, and watched intently.

“Some Pokémon can’t use attacks. Some Pokémon can’t even walk, they’re born like that! With disabilities, and poorer life circumstances. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Those Pokémon can do things and live normal lives thanks to V Wave technology. And regardless of what you think, a world where we don’t have to fight should be ideal.” Lute grit his teeth as he spoke.

“Then what’re you going to do? Beg Lassic to change the way his machines work?” Kuri said. Lute leaned back and shook. He couldn’t find the worlds to reply with, having to put all his effort just to keep eye contact. “Get out of here. You’re no hero. You’ll never be a hero. You’re just another one of Lassic’s puppets.”

“Kuri,” Gen said. The Chespin shook his head and walked away.

“Oh and by the way,” he said, stopping to look back at them over his shoulder. “Since you’re Agents of King’s Shield, it’s your mission to try and apprehend me for my previous crimes. But if you dare, I won’t hesitate to kill you. So pick your next move wisely, kid.”


	21. Temple of the East

“Allow me to apologise. Kuri isn’t normally like this,” Gen said, crouched beside Lute. “He doesn’t mean to target you directly.”

“He said a _lot_ of mean stuff, ya’know. You don’t need to sugar-coat it,” Sophitia said.

“No no, I mean it. Kuri has a heavy bias against Lassic. I do as well, but he acts on it personally. So any agents he comes across, he refuses to give a chance,” she said. “It is a deeply rooted hatred that leads him to act that way. You’ll just have to understand.”

“Well thank god we don’t actually need him to awaken the flowers. I don’t think I could take it if we had to travel with someone that bitter,” Sophitia said.

Lute kept his head down while the rest of them bickered about the now absent Chespin. They were complaining, but to him, they were just trying to sympathise with him. He knew that Kuri wasn’t wrong, and that was what stung so much. Anxious thanks to the cold and darkness around him, let alone the circles the conversation moved in, Lute growled.

“Kuri’s not the problem,” he said aloud. Everyone went quiet. “He’s telling the truth. If V Waves stop working and everybody loses their technology, it will break Aseria. We’re far too dependent on it.”

“Well we can’t just sit here and let everything die. I thought that’s what you believed?” Esther said.

“I don’t think Lassic will be able to make any machines that fix the weather, though. That sounds like a real fantasy,” Infia said.

“I know. That’s what makes this so difficult. If we awaken those flowers, we bring back the seasons, but we also destroy the foundation the entirety of society is built up on,” he said. He turned away from everyone. “If only there was some way to make everyday machinery still work even without V Waves. Naivie—”

“Don’t look at me. I can’t magically resolve this problem of yours. It’s purely a problem for modern day kids,” she said.

Lute faced the floor. “Perhaps it’s impossible for everyone to be happy. No matter what we do, we destroy the world.”

“Argh, is that anything a hero would say?” Sophitia said. He didn’t look at her. “He said we’re not heroes, but I believe you can be. That’s why you joined the agents, that’s why you wanted to join the agents. Don’t let some pessimistic naysayer tell you otherwise!”

Lute looked up at her, expecting some kind of sarcastic tone to come from her. But there was a look of genuine annoyance on her face, and her eyes were fixated on him. Was she actually annoyed at him for not being overly positive about this?

He looked away again. That didn’t matter. What mattered right now is what _they_ did. In the loosest sense possible, even if the everyday technology stopped, Pokémon would be able to survive. They survived for this long without it. A time of panic wasn’t ideal, but it was better than ignoring the dying weather. He looked back up at everyone, and then at the surroundings.

If everywhere ended up like Angard right now, then all would be lost.

“Let’s catch up to Kuri.” He faced forward.

“That’s more like it. Not like you to get tripped up ‘cos of some jerk,” Sophitia said with a smile.

“Well actually, I want to try to talk to Lassic about all this. Properly. It’s just that if the seasons don’t come back, the whole world could end up like Angard right now. If that happens, we’re all done for,” he said. “But I am curious. Gen, why do you and Kuri hate Lassic so much?”

“That’s private for both of us,” she said.

“How private are we talking?” Esther asked. There was no response.

“Not a good question, Esther,” Phoenix said.

“Ya’know, Pokémon would be a lot happier if they talked about their problems rather than keepin’ a lotta secrets,” she said, batting her eyes.

“It’s not even important. All you need to know is that I hate that Pokémon with all of my being. He continues to act against our interests, so that makes him and most related things an enemy,” Gen said.

“You say that, but he has to have done something pretty bad for you to hate him with ‘all of your being’. If I’m being really nosy, I’d say you’re living out here in the sticks to avoid him and his world that much,” Esther said.

Gen squinted and came to a sudden halt. With the command of one paw and lifted ears, she pulled Esther off the ground and dangled her upside-down with Psychic, making the Pikachu squirm and squeak.

“A-ah-ah stop please okay I’m sorry! Guys, get me down from here!”

“You were asking for it.” Phoenix rolled his eyes. The others could only blink in a daze.

“Alright alright, I’m sorry, just stop already, please?” Esther whined, trying to hold her tutu over herself. “They can see everything it’s gross and—”

“You can stay like that until we get to the temple,” Gen said.

“Gross? What’s so gross about—” Lute said.

“Don’t look! Not for your eyes yet, Lutey!” Esther cried.

“… Lutey?” he said, tilting his head.

“Forget it. She’s just being Esther,” Infia sighed.

He laughed lightly as did the others, and then left it at that. He was more concerned about the nerve that had been touched with the subject. What could Gen and Kuri have known about Lassic that made them get so furious? Or maybe he was just reading too much into it, and they were crazier environmentalists than he first thought.

It took them a while to reach the temple. Gen took them from the streets of the drained, texture-less town they had seen before, to the dark fields and plains that lay beyond it. It wasn’t too different to the open space outside of Everend, but the dead lands took the tone of dread Lute felt and multiplied it. It led to a trip that felt long and draining, and all the time he couldn’t think straight.

By the time they reached the temple, he felt exhausted. The rugged slope up to a mountaintop looked daunting, even though its layout was as public friendly as could be. It even had the remains of fences all the way up to the top, fence that was smoother than wood and had no threat of splinters.

“It’s just as we left it. Just like I promised, too,” Esther said, still upside-down. Gen ran up the slope to check for herself, but made no comment when she looked it over.

The crater looked like the one underneath the Radial Castle. It was as if someone had taken an ice cream scoop and used it on the ground to create a crusty crater. Just like they had been told before, there was a Teleportal, too. Kuri was there as well, impatiently tapping his foot with folded arms.

“And this is where you guys met Naivie, huh?” Sophitia smiled. She jumped and floated down, while the others skidded down the bottom. “Able to tell us what you were doing before you met us?”

“Checking up on the temples. It’s inconvenient, but there really isn’t a way of me finding the heroes when I first awaken. I just have to hang around each of the temples, and those curious enough to find them are likely the heroes,” Naivie said. She floated over to Kuri, who gave her a cheeky grin.

“Wait, but doesn’t that make it extreme luck? I mean, Esther kinda guessed that we’d be the Pokémon you were looking for, didn’t she?” Sophitia said. “How can you be sure that it’s us?”

“You kids ask too many questions, you know that? What happened to the days where Pokémon let fate and destiny explain everything?” she said.

“That corny stuff stayed back in old movies, heh. Can I get down now, by the way?” Esther said. Gen let her go, and she fell face flat.

“So you guys came in the end. Decided you’re okay with letting society’s toys break down?” Kuri said.

“Oh don’t get smart mouthed. You’re stuck here ‘cos you can’t go to the temple without us. So if I were you, I’d be a good little boy and play nice,” Sophitia said.

“Ho ho. The little lady’s got a sting to her,” he said. “If we’re really allies for the time being, then let’s see if you can keep up with me, then.”

“Please don’t compete, guys,” Lute groaned. He took a deep breath and approached Kuri directly, making sure he was being paid attention to. “I’m only doing this because the danger of losing the weather is worse. I will talk to Lassic about this, and I will find a way to keep things the way they are.”

The Chespin responded with a frown, and a tensed. “Alright. See how far you can get with that.”

“I want a world where Pokémon don’t have to fight, and everyone can get by with the convenience technology gives us. For Pokémon who aren’t as able as others to be capable of living life to the fullest despite their disabilities. It has to be possible. But to do that, there needs to be a tomorrow. And we won’t have tomorrow if the weather dies,” he said.

“Spoken like a real hero. Let’s go,” Sophitia said as she crossed her feelers. Unfurling them, the Teleportal activated, and they all vanished in a flash of light. However, Gen was left behind, confused and surprised to have not been affected at all.

“Wait huh? How did?” she gasped, spinning around. She stopped and scratched her head. “Guess I’m not allowed in. I was looking forward to that.”

…

Lute did his usual of skip ahead the moment they appeared in the temple, but this time he regretted that decision. It was blazingly hot inside, so hot that he felt his breath get ripped from him the second they landed.

He coughed and his mouth instantly dried up, but that was all. After that moment of discomfort, he was able to adjust a bit, but the heat still irked enough to draw out a bit of panic. Looking left and right, the temple at least looked more sophisticated than the caves and dungeons he had been in so far. The walls were lined with decorative patterns and brickwork, painted and coloured smoothly enough to earn a wow.

But his eyesight gave off the fluctuations normally seen when looking through heated air. His panic flared up even more when he realised that he was struggling to breathe, and he took an exaggerated breath to try and rectify that. It didn’t look like there wasn’t any oxygen in this place, yet he felt like every inhale was just tickling his lungs with whatever dried gas he was taking in.

“Oh my goodness,” Infia cried, falling on all fours. “It’s so hot!”

“What’s up with this? It’s blazing in here,” Sophitia said. She brushed her fur with her feelers. “Where are we?”

“The eastern temple. If you guessed that here is where you’ll restore summer, then you guessed right,” Naivie said. “By the way, only the heroes are allowed inside the temples because they’re in Moand Dia. So your little Meowstic girlie has to wait outside.”

“Could’ve warned me before on that one,” Kuri said, evidently looking for her.

“It won’t make a difference to your team, though. So let’s go,” Naivie sung.

“Any chance you’re gonna make it easy on us?” Esther said, slumped forward. “It’s so hot I can hardly breathe in here.”

“Oh don’t be lazy. C’mon, chop chop, get a move on!” she said.

“We have a problem,” Phoenix said.

“Figures the fire and rock types would be okay. What’s up, fluffy cheeks?” Esther said.

“That Eevee is here. If we encounter him in this state, I am not confident in our chances,” he said. “Please allow me to lead. I can tell us in advance if he is nearby.”

“That would save a life,” Sophitia said, clutching her chest. She was already drenched in sweat. “Pretty preoccupied here.”

Lute couldn’t help but wipe his own face, and only now realised how much he was sweating as well. He was definitely weakened, as if he was gaining less air each time he inhaled and exhaled. He lagged behind the others as a result, but noticed that Kuri didn’t seem to be affected by all the heat.

Unlike the southern temple, this place had more of a constructive layout. The Teleportal was at the end of hallway that soon split into multiple paths, each one marked with directions painted on the walls. Giant bonfire candles high up kept the place lit, contrary to the weathered age most of the decorations had. There were a few pots and trinkets in the corners of some places as well, some of which even still had soil in them.

“It’s like Pokémon lived here,” Lute said slowly.

“It’s best to save your breath, Lute,” Sophitia said, just as thirsty and drained.

“Oh when we are out of here, I’m taking the biggest bath.” Esther tugged at her clothes. “Who designs a place like this?”

“It’s in Moand Dia, like the other temple was. I guess I never really noticed how hot it was, being a Carbink and all. Even though it’s right next to magma,” Naivie said.

“Figures I would feel a little better walking in a place this warm. I believe this is how Pokémon feel when they say they can run a hundred miles,” Phoenix said, jogging a few paces ahead.

“Just watching him makes me tireder,” Infia said.

“Wait a minute, right next to magma? What are we walking inside the planet?” Lute stopped.

“Of course. You knew Moand Dia was inside the planet. This Shaymin and its flower thrived off heat and nothing else. It was said to be the toughest one,” Naivie said.

“Do you have any idea how hot that is?” he raised his voice.

“I’ve never heard of a plant that thrives off heat before. Don’t tell me its leaves are made of fire or something,” Sophitia said. Lute’s curiosity went through the roof at that, trying to picture a giant flower with fire for leaves. But that just looked like a tree on fire, which wasn’t pretty.

Phoenix soon stopped them at the edge of a corner, sneakily looking around it. “This is it. But there is someone else there.”

“Is it that Eevee?” Infia asked worriedly.

“No. A Spirle High Point.” He turned around.

“Son of a- what? How?” Kuri said. “So much for only heroes being allowed in here. Who is it?”

“Storm. Storm is a Dragalge,” he said. Infia gasped and stumbled back a bit. “Despite being dragon type, his species is very prone to drying out. During my battles, I have only seen him once. I am certain he is a scientist for Spirle who rarely shows his face around their conflicts. He must be here for a considerably serious reason.”

“We can’t fight him. We should come back another time,” Infia said.

“Are you serious? This is prime chance to take out one of Spirle’s biggest wigs. A little sweaty weather ain’t gonna stop us, right?” Kuri said, raising a fist.

Lute looked away. “If things go bad, do we have a way of escaping?”

“Lute?” Infia cried.

“I can’t run away from the bad guys. If we can safely bail, then it’s worth a shot. Heavy breathing or not,” he said as he wiped himself of sweat again.

“I have our escape orbs. One cast of this, and we’ll be thrown out to the Teleportal,” Sophitia said, flashing one. “Let’s go.”

“Ah, wait,” Infia cried, tripping over to grab Lute’s tail.

“Infia?” Esther said.

“I just… I really don’t want to fight him.” She shuddered.

“Oh screw off with this. Sort out your petty little drama elsewhere. This isn’t the place for it,” Kuri said, ignoring them to approach.

“Infia, what’s wrong?” Lute said. She didn’t answer, and scrunched herself up. She looked like she was struggling to breathe for a moment, but coughed and took deep breaths to get a hold of herself. She shook her head.

“He’s right, you know. If he dies ‘cos he goes and fights a Dragalge on his own, you have no one to blame but yourselves,” Naivie said.

“It’s… alright. I’m coming,” she gulped.

The hallway was long enough for them to catch up to Kuri before he started, at least. The walls here were fancier than the designs in the rest of the temple, and as they entered the room at the end of the hall, they got even more extravagant.

However, the heat got worse. They were walking on a bridge that opened out into a prayer altar that matched the one in the southern temple. Below the bridge and to their sides was active lava, bubbling and slowly swirling around in its own pool. Just one look at it made Lute’s heart race, and his breath was stolen again. He never imagined how unbearable it would be to stand so close to lava, but here he was, surprised he wasn’t literally being set alight.

“You’re here. Just like the leader said you would be,” the Dragalge said, curling a wing to invite them closer. He was identical to any other Dragalge: a huge, purple, serpentine dragon with a body of dried, rotten seaweed. He was thin, his eyes were a deep red, and the lighting of the heat from below gave him a terrifying gaze.

“Storm,” Infia cried, still at the back of the group. At her shout, Lute could actually see his eyes widen for an instant.

“You’re here. You’re also one of them?” he said. She didn’t reply.

“Ah, so you know her. Good to see we all acquainted already,” Kuri said. “No need for fancy introductions. We can get straight to the tea party. I’d love to know all about you. Like, why are you here? How’d you know who I’d be bringing, too? And while you’re at it, maybe you could tell us about your special ability.”

“That information is none of your business, Chespin,” Storm said in his low, vicious tone. He was almost comical, but it still made Lute tremble.

“Oh please, I insist. I’m just dying to know all about you,” Kuri began to pace. “Go ahead, the table’s yours buddy! I’m sure you know all about me already, so I’d be gloating if I kept talking. We’d love to know how you hang out in a place like this.”

“This isn’t gonna get us anywhere,” Sophitia said.

“Shh. The honoured guest is talking,” he said.

“Guest? It is you who is trespassing in this place. But my business is only with the Eevee,” Storm said.

“Him?” everyone said.

“Why me?” Lute cried.

“Don’t hurt Lute,” Infia cried. Esther held her baton in front of Lute. “Don’t do it. We don’t have to fight.”

“As we are now, little Minun, we are foes. You lived so that you could fight in scenarios like this, and fight you shall. Do what you were created to do, and show the world the might of Spirle’s V Pockets,” Storm said.

“But why. You’re a good Pokémon. Why are you here, working for Spirle?” she said. Kuri cringed hard.

“_Him_? Are you freaking serious? He’s a High Point of Spirle, and you think he’s a good Pokémon?” he shouted.

“When I went to the Radial Tower to try and… Storm was there. He stopped me. He told me to wait until the end of the day before trying to hurt myself, because he believed that everyone would come. And he said that if they did, he would make sure Spirle didn’t get in the way,” she said. “He believed that you guys were good Pokémon when even I didn’t.”

“And we did come. You stopped her. You saved her?” Lute said, jaw dropped. “You could’ve kidnapped her and done all sorts of things. But instead, you made her wait for us?”

“Oh no,” Kuri rolled his eyes.

“That was before you were considered heroes young Eevee. Now, we are direct enemies. I was told to drop Risen in your way, but after seeing reports of your battles, Lute, I have grown interested,” Storm said, and raised both wings. He held a number of capsules filled with brown liquid. “Victoria revealed that you may have power. But Tetra failed to draw out that power.”

“I don’t have any special powers. You guys keep talking about stuff like that, but I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he cried.

“You need not concern yourself. I will do my utmost to draw them out,” he said with increasing pitch. He dropped the capsules beside him, and out drained the brown liquid within. It turned out to be a thick sludge, which when it hit the ground, soon rose into the form of Risen. Each one looked like a common Pokémon, but their eyes were glowing red orbs that stuck out of the muddy skin. About five of them formed, and each one locked eyes with one of Lute’s friends to roar at them.

“Aww what, you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. It’s _too_ hot for this,” Esther cried.

“Don’t waste your breath, just fight them,” Sophitia said as she formed her weapons. Everyone shrugged and prepared for battle. They soon each had a Risen to fight, although Infia stood back, protected by Esther who took on two Risen at once.

“You guys,” Lute cried.

“Focus, Eevee. Your fight is with me,” Storm said, looming over him. The sudden closed distance made him gasp and stumble away.

“How did you—” he said, clamming right up. The way Storm glared at him and the sounds of attacks going off around him brought him to focus. “You want special power? I’ll give you it, by just beating you.”

He started with Quick Attack, aiming for Storm’s chest. He was blocked by a wing, but was held in place. Storm clawed into his back a bit, but Lute resisted it as best as he could, bringing up the energy for a Bite attack. Black light swarmed around his fangs, which clamped down hard enough to make Storm yell, and he threw Lute down.

Lute already felt like he was being drained. He couldn’t breathe, but he knew that he couldn’t stop the battle now. He took in as much breath as he could and jumped into a Swift attack, releasing a rain of energy stars toward his enemy. Storm made no attempt to dodge them, and instead crossed his wings to guard against them. As soon as the attack stopped however, he vanished forward in a blur of a speed.

“Fast?” Lute gasped. Before he could land, Storm appeared in front of him with a tail drawn back and dripping with purple sludge. That tail whipped Lute’s chest, sending him flying. He hit the wall at the edge of the altar and sunk to the ground in a heap.

A grunt and a groan were all he could muster, and then he found himself unable to move. He could stand, but his body was stiff and ached all over. He was out of breath and dripping with sweat as well, his eyesight blurred to a level where he could only make out colours. He wasn’t in pain, but he barely had the energy to do much other than fight consciousness, a familiar feeling that he had grown to hate all too much.

Sophitia and the others were barely in any better. The Risen had them all pinned to a corner. They weren’t hurt yet, but surrounded and back to back with uncertain looks on each of their faces.

“Alright, I guess now’s the time to one-up you. Leave this to me,” Sophitia huffed in an effort to carry her sword and shield. She charged ahead and sliced the Risen directly in front of her, chopping it cleanly in half. “Ha! See, look at that, Kuri. Easy as—”

Concern raised when the two muddy halves began to bulge and mutate, where they quickly reformed as two of the same enemy she had just defeated. Her mouth hit the floor while Kuri burst out laughing behind her.

“Oh wow, Sophitia. How nice of you to one-up me by making things worse. You’re a real heroine,” he said in a sing-song tone.

“Oh- just- bah, shut up,” she growled, withdrawing her weapons. Pink swirls of dust surrounded the tips of her feelers instead, ready for a Fairy Wind attack. With a thrust of each feeler, the dust came out as strong bursts of wind, knocking several of the Risen back.

Kuri had to focus and take on his own foes as well. He kicked one of the Risen away and then used his vines to lift another, roaring as he threw it into the crowd of them. Rather than being knocked away, the thrown Risen merged with the target that it hit, creating one more Risen that was taller and bulkier than the rest. “What the- it absorbed it?”

“Wow, nice work Kuri. I’m definitely gonna have trouble keeping up with you,” Sophitia said, a cheeky smile on her face. Kuri cursed and spat, surrounding his fists with the thorns of a Needle Arm attack.

“Will you children just get along?” Esther growled. She cried at the top of her voice as she released a wave of electricity. It hit three Risen that came running toward her, melting them away. Her efforts brought her down to one paw, but several more Risen rose up in front of her.

“This isn’t the time for this. They’re multiplying as we speak. Focus!” Phoenix said as he coughed up several Flamethrower attacks. He had a whole mob of Risen after him, but all he could do was slash or blast each one as it came at him.

Infia watched the whole conflict from a safe distance, and shook her head slowly in disbelief. Conflict plagued her, but mostly in the form of Storm’s hesitant fighting. She was fixated on him with terror in her eyes, watching him bash Lute around the area like a Substitute doll. But whenever Lute took a bad attack, Storm would wait until the Eevee stood up and retaliated before launching another attack himself. She almost felt as if he was allowing Lute to win, if that was even possible.

Esther’s shriek of pain made her heart jump, and her eyes snapped to the remainder of the battle. The Risen were overpowering the others, and Esther was at the centre of it all, flat on the floor with her baton knocked out of her grasp. Unlike Storm, those monsters weren’t going to wait for the Pikachu to get up. Once Infia saw the panic in Esther’s eyes, her own anxiety shot up, and she clenched her paws into fists.

“Stop hurting them! Leave her alone!” she cried. Her shout was useless however, and the monsters continued to advance on the struggling Pikachu, as did Storm towards Lute. Infia’s face became determined. She put her paws together, gathering her own energy toward the tips. That came out as a watery glow held between her paws, which she then cast up into the air with a desperate cry. “Please work.”

“Esther, hang in- damn it will you let go of me?” Sophitia growled, pushing her shield against a Risen. It was trying to climb over the shield and scratch her, latched to her shield like a magnet. It took a roar of effort to throw it off, which left her with a hung head again. “_Damn it, I can’t breathe. All my strength is gone. Why does it have to be so damn hot here_?”

She gave an exaggerated gasp, surprised to find that all of a sudden, her breath was back to normal. At that, it felt cooler, and a light wind brushed away the loose sweat still on her. The Risen seemed to react to the new atmosphere as well, and looked around in confusion.

“Clouds?” she said, just as confused. Rainclouds had formed inside the room, and they soon rumbled with thunder. Seconds later, rain fell, making the Risen wrench and screech like feral animals. The water began to melt their muddy forms, leaving everyone dazed and surprised. “What do you know? Water’s their weakness.”

“Guys, don’t just stand there. Now’s your chance! Help Lute,” Infia cried.

But for Lute, things were just as strange and unexpected. The rain had levelled his temperature and allowed him to breathe properly, yet his eyesight was still blurry and his head was still drowned in discomfort. He growled and twitch as he forced himself to stay awake at all costs. Storm seemed unbothered by the disappearance of his Risen and was fixated on Lute, eyes thinned and concentrated.

“_Focus Lute. Focus, darn it. Why my eyes so… the necklace_?” he gasped in his head, realising what was happening. The necklace around his neck glowed pink, but being so close to him, it was blinding. “_It’s just like when I used that electric attack. So if I…_”

He gave the necklace a squeeze, and surely enough, out came streams of pink light and energy, all of which circled him before flying right into his chest. Although the lights no longer blurred his eyes with the necklace’s glow, instead his whole body began to glow, getting brighter and brighter as more and more energy flew from the necklace into him. Lute began to worry as he felt that energy leaking from him. It was like he was holding back the energy for a Swift attack, holding it in for so long that he might actually explode from it, and cried out.

“What?” Storm whispered, edging back a bit. He shielded his body with his wings, only for the Eevee to actually explode. A huge wave of pink light burst from him, a powerful pulse of force that cleansed the area around him. Storm let out a monstrous shriek as he was sent flying, slamming to the ground in a heap.

The others were in shock, even the previously concentrating Infia. Not just at the powerful new attack Lute had used, but at the fact that it had damaged Storm so much. The Dragalge looked devastated, covered from top to bottom in marks of dirt and scratches. He shivered as he righted himself and snarled furiously with eyes locked onto Lute. The Eevee was back to normal, but a glittering sphere of light surrounded him.

“That attack. And it put up Light Screen,” Storm growled. Sprinting footsteps drew his attention to Kuri and Phoenix, to which he dashed out of sight to avoid their Energy Ball and Flamethrower attacks at the last moment.

“Damn it! Where are you hiding?” Kuri shouted.

“I have seen all I needed to see, heroes.” Storm said, his voice echoing through the area. “That was a clever move, summoning the rain. I will take my leave. But count your remaining days of freedom, for Spirle will soon be on the rise. In time, Aseria will be ours.”

“You’re running? Now?” Kuri said.

“Just stop. I’ve seen who you can really be, you don’t have to be a villain for Spirle,” Infia cried. There was no response for a while, and no one could see him, either.

“I… think he’s gone,” Sophitia said. “You gotta hand it to him. A guy that big being able to move that fast and hide, I guess those are his ‘special powers’?”

“Slippery bastard. He has to be nearby,” Kuri said, and took off. Naivie fluttered in his way.

“No you don’t! We’re living on borrowed time, here. You can catch your snotty little bad guy another time. The flower comes first,” she said. Kuri growled and shook his head, but folded his arms and tapped his foot in defeat.

“Something’s up with those Spirle High Points. I swear all of them actually just want to get in the way? What was all that really about?” Sophitia said. “You okay, Lute?”

“I… I am. But I did another attack. I don’t know where that came from. This is the second time that’s happened,” he said. She held his chin up with a feeler.

“You don’t need to worry about it. Whatever it is, all that matters is that you’re okay,” she said. “Plus, whatever you did really put the hurt on him. I mean, did you see the way he struggled? And I’m pretty sure Infia wasn’t doing Helping Hand, there.”

Esther screeched all of a sudden, but all she did was run and body slam Infia. She was screaming some other things as well, nuzzling the Minun in a tight cuddle. Lute and Sophitia exchanged unsure glances, speechless as the two mice practically wrestled each other on the floor.

“Look at you! You’re the best, you’re the real hero here!” Esther squealed.

“Alright alright, what’re you trying to do to her?” Naivie said, coming between them.

“Sorry, I just – you really saved our butts back there,” she cheered, pumping a fist. Infia barely made a sound, left scrunched up with a face redder than a pepper. “Helping Hand, Healing Touch, and now, Rain Dance? You’re a genius!”

Infia’s only response was to cover her face with her shirt with a high pitched whine. Esther still took to hugging her, giggling excitedly.

“Okay okay, keep that up and you’ll kill her from embarrassment” Naivie prodded Esther on the head. “Eyes on the goal, too. We haven’t made the flower yet!”

“I don’t like to rush these things, but Naivie is right. I can still sense the Eevee in the area. And once the rain wears off, this will only get more difficult. We should get this over with,” Phoenix said. His fangs were gritted and one eye was closed.

“Oh, right. Fluffy Cheeks and rain. You wanna get outta here now, don’tcha?” she said with a giggle.

“Eh, they’re both right,” Kuri said, taking position at the altar. With upbeat smiles and nods to one another, the others took their positions as well, soon joined by Naivie in the middle.

“Because this is our first time with all six of you, I’ll run over the basics. You just have to cast your wish with your prayer, and I’ll handle the hard part. But the main precaution is that you _must not_ stop praying until I tell you to. Is that clear?” Naivie said.

Lute become focused to try and ignore the rain. Magical rain cooling him off as he stood on an altar atop a lake of lava, hoping to grow a giant flower. The thought felt satisfying. It was just the kind of magical story he wanted to be part of, and knowing that he had withstood the battle this time, he finally had that sense of progress he wanted. This didn’t feel like luck that he survived, it felt like he had gotten stronger, and the help of Infia’s Rain Dance had let him utilise that strength.

He couldn’t help but smile when Naivie began. They had adapted to a strategy, and it was all thanks to them all getting stronger. Looking back to his days at school, he could never have envisioned Infia standing up to a giant like Storm. But here she was, able to set aside her personal weakness to help them battle, all to protect the Pokémon that meant something to her.

But then that bothered him. It must have hurt, having to fight him. He gave her a chance to continue living rather than letting her kill herself, only to have to try and kill her just now. That is, if their death was what Storm really wanted. One thing was for sure, Infia had made her decision when it counted, and fought, proving that she now had faith in her place where she once felt nothing.

Naivie’s struggled cries brought him back to reality. That flaming light that surrounded her last time was happening again, alongside the streaks of light in the patterns on the floor that surrounded each of them in fiery pillars. She was in pain, and as the ritual went on, his body and head began to strain.

“Is that meant to be happenin’?” Kuri said, clearly strained as well.

“Focus! Don’t- you dare stop,” Naivie coughed, soon crying at the top of her voice. But with her cry came a bright wave of light that took away their consciousness in a flash.

…

“_You’re soon going to see what the outside world looks like. Are you excited?_” a motherly voice said. A grey palm was stroking a Sylveon’s back, but the Sylveon didn’t look happy about it. “_It may still be for training, but it is a new experience. New experiences are important._”

“_But it’s scary,_” the young Sylveon said, pouty and huffy.

“_Now now. You can’t decide what is scary until you truly try it. You are going to meet many new Pokémon. Species living lives just like your own. You could even make friends. And when you come across foes, that is when you can fight with confidence._”

“_This isn’t going to be fun,_” Sylveon said.

“_You can defend yourself in a way that only fairies can. A gesture shared by the people of your world is going to become one of your strongest weapons: the kiss._”

“_Why would I want to kiss another Pokémon?_”

“_Because you are a beautiful young woman. I have no doubt in my mind that even you will attract the eyes of many who will wish for your love,_” the motherly voice said. They withdrawing their palm. “_But your feelings are most important. Your true kiss is reserved for the one who you, and only you, would consider your partner. The others, you will curse them with the might of the Draining Kiss._”

“_Draining Kiss? Wait, you mean I can hurt Pokémon with a kiss?_” Sylveon said.

“_And drain the energy for yourself, no less. It is a fairy Pokémon’s most deceptive tool!_”

“_… Cool._”

“_Remember: Pokémon attacks are a means of self-defence. For should you threaten others with your Draining Kiss often, you may forfeit the trust of a real relationship for the remainder of your life._”

“_… I get it. It’s not like I’m going to fight everything in sight,_” Sylveon said. There was a pause, and the young Eeveelution shut her eyes. “_Hey, Diancie? What’s the world up there like?_”


	22. Evoli

Gen was sat on the fence around Angard’s crater, arms tucked behind her head and legs hung loosely. She was half asleep, but sprung awake the instant she heard the Teleportal go off. “You’re back?”

“Ah, finally! Fresh air and a late-night chill,” Esther said with a stretch. “Seriously, did Pokémon live there? I’m surprised we didn’t melt.”

“Fire Pokémon, Esther. Come on, it’s so obvious,” Naivie said.

“Yeah but even Fluffy Cheeks is,” she said, glancing at him. The Fennekin was sparkly clean for some reason, even though everyone else was drenched in sweat and catching their breath. “Okay, you’re right. Forget it. Just get me home so I can have a bath, _please_.”

“You weren’t kidding about that, huh?” Sophitia said.

“Why would I? Have you seen my clothes? They probably smell like a wet Grumpig,” she said as she tugged at her shirt.

“More importantly, where’s our next destination?” Kuri said.

“Already?” Lute said.

“Don’t have to go there right away. It’s just useful to know,” he said. Naivie nodded and took to the centre of the group.

“The temple on the western continent. I don’t know what the place is like right now, but if the land is the same, then be ready for some real mountain climbing,” she said. “That’ll be the third of four temples, located high up in frigid mountains. I had my doubts about this journey, but you guys are making faster progress than I thought. The seasons will be back in no time.”

“Praise from Naivie without a sarcastic tone? Should we call a Blissey?” Sophitia gasped.

“Don’t push your luck.”

“I won’t. Just teasing, hee hee.”

“You just got back here,” Gen said. “You’re going to leave already?”

“Heck no! I came back to see you, not get roped into this. Fastest way to get the kids to leave is to just do what they needed to do here,” he said, and folded his arms.

“Oh yeah right. _You’re_ here because I told you to be here. And now that you’re here, you’re part of the team. Don’t make things difficult,” Naivie cried, fluttering in front of him.

“Nope. And you can’t make me.” He flicked her away. He wrapped his arms around Gen and brought her in close. “Not when I’ve got a promise with the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Ugh. I know I’ve been waiting, but no need to get sappy on me,” she said, looking away. “Besides, your work with these kids is important. If you have to go, then I understand.”

“The only place I have to go right now is somewhere with you. Where do you fancy? Pokétopia? That sweet shop in Everend?” he said.

“Be serious about this.”

“I am serious about this.”

She glared at him, a little surprised to see a goofy smile on his face. She blushed a bit, and then swayed her head and brushed her dress. “You’re hopeless, you know that? I know you’re not doing this because I asked for it.”

“Aww. Nice to know my wonderful wife has so much faith in me,” he said.

“Kuri!” she said, breaking off from him. “You know how important this is to me. Don’t go brushing them away.”

“Gen,” he said, surprised.

“If it was up to me, I would be with you on this journey. But someone has to take care of Angard. Plus, I’m not even allowed in the temples.” She looked away.

“You could still come with us,” Lute said. “It just means you won’t be able to come with us into Moand Dia.”

“Will you clear off?” Kuri shouted, making him flinch. “You can clearly see this is a private conversation.”

“But that- I thought- you—” he tried to say, but Sophitia pinched him.

“We’ll wait at the bottom,” she said.

“Wait, we will? But we—”

“Drop it, Lute. It’s couple stuff.” She rolled her eyes.

“But couple drama is fun,” Esther moaned.

“Not you, too,” Phoenix said, shoving her away.

She allowed him to with a groan, and soon, Kuri and Gen were left alone. They still waited a moment to make sure all was silent, and then Kuri sighed. “Don’t pretend this doesn’t mean a lot to me, too. It’s been months since we’ve gotten the chance to see each other. I do honestly want to spend time with you.”

“I do as well. I’ve really missed you. But I guess this is what Father meant when I told him I was marrying a rebel. Long times alone and apart, where all I can do is watch you run from the law,” she said. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? If you journey with them, you’re right in Lassic’s grasp. You’re worried about finally getting arrested.”

“Er, that’s a precaution, but I don’t think they have the skill to catch me. They’ve got their hands full trying to track Spirle,” he said as he began to pace. He tucked his arms behind his back. “Those kids aren’t my style. If you were there with the stunt they almost pulled, trying to argue that a High Point was a good guy…”

“Look, none of that really matters to me. All I want is revenge on Lassic. To stop his creation of this idealistic, ‘evolved’ world. You’re now one of the heroes of Aseria, which means I now have to bank on you doing everything. That’s worth living alone here for another month or two. Or however long it takes.”

“Never thought I’d hear you make another declaration like that. Have you really resigned your life like that, driven by vengeance?” he said. She replied with a silent, piercing gaze, but he wasn’t shaken by it. “Something like that isn’t satisfying unless it’s by your own paws, you know?”

She looked down and sighed, and he came closer to embrace her again. “I never wanted things to be this way. I’d give anything for things to have been different. That’s what we decided, didn’t we? That we’d try and make this work, even despite everything.”

She held his hand tightly and looked out at the dark country before them. “That even in this bleak place, to stay positive, to keep the feelings I felt when I first fell in love with you,” she said. She sounded shaky.

“And even if everything goes wrong, I did everything I did without regrets. We lived, we fought, and we loved,” he said.

“You still remember,” she said. She swallowed a tear. “This is absurd. I mean both things. I want to destroy Lassic, but more than anything in the world, I just want us to live in peace for once. That’s all I really wanted.”

“Don’t let the others see you like this. But the feeling’s mutual.”

“This is our best chance. The legend will force Lassic to make a move. We’ll destroy his world, and then him.”

“So let’s stay together. Let’s destroy Lassic our way. Then we’ll rebuild Angard, and live together like we always wanted,” Kuri said. Gen started giggling a little, sat down and leaned back.

“Goodness, you really are one cloud of sappiness, aren’t you? Once you start raining emotions, they don’t stop. But you never let anyone else see this, only me. When are you going to realise how much that holds you back?” she said. “Seriously. Go with them. You’re all heroes for a reason. If they can’t resonate with you, then I don’t who know can.”

“Um… you?” he said. She pinched him, and he joined her in sitting down. “But seriously, I just can’t trust anyone, Gen. You know that.”

“Anyone except me.”

“That’s why I want us to do it our way. We can build our world in our lifetime, I know it,” he said.

She didn’t reply, staring out at the scenery. He made a sound, unable to tell what she really thought behind her stoic expression. She smiled after a moment though, which lifted his mood a bit. He decided just to join her in enjoying the scenery, ignorant of how dark it was. Angard was still a dead country of lifeless fields and the silhouette of a fragile, empty city. They stared at it until the most unexpected thing began to happen, so much so that their hearts sped up in slight fear.

There was light over the horizon. It seemed like a nasty hallucination at first, but as time went by, the light only got brighter and more revealing. It wasn’t a threatening glow like that of an attack or an unknown power, but the engrossing warmth granted by the sun. As it rose over the horizon, its warm colour brought life to the barren scenery, and soon, the couple themselves.

“Sunrise,” Kuri whispered, and stood up tall. He sprinted to the edge of the hill and leaned over the fence, holding his head as wind brushed against his fur. “But how?”

“You awakened the temple, didn’t you? Naivie said they’ve done two of them,” Gen said, holding her dress down. “The weather must be starting to come back now that there are two ancient flowers.”

“The wind and sunlight.” He blinked in disbelief.

The clouds had cleared up as well, truly breathing a world of life back into Angard. The black fields were now colourised with a wasteland-like moss. The city was built out of aged and weathered buildings that had their various paint colours washed out of them. Even the fence they were leaning on was a weakened metal that was a silver, marked with spots of dirt and scratches. Contrasted by the clear blue sky, the couple were now standing in a world that they could fully imagine being populated with the life it once had.

“This really happened because of the awakened flower?” he muttered, jaw dropped. “I… I’d forgotten what Angard looked like in the light.”

“So did I. And I’m the one who’s been living here,” Gen said. “Um… hey, Kuri?”

“The wind as well. It’s nicer than I remember. And it feels clean,” he said. Gen linked their paws and pulled him back a bit. She pulled him into a cuddle, though neither could take their eyes off the scenery. “Gen. Seeing all this, I…”

“Shh. You’re not going to go with them, are you?” she said.

“You want me to stay, now?” he said.

“You can catch up to them later. But first,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. He immediately turned and kissed her back, and the two wrapped their arms around one another, caressing each other. “When we start rebuilding this country, now we have an idea of what it can look like. We have hope.”

“You want to make rebuilding plans already?” He smiled.

“Planning ahead leads to success, after all.”

“And improvising leads to adaptation. Catching up to them later was what I was planning on doing, anyway.”

…

“Naivie, I thought you said the sun and stuff wouldn’t come back until we did all the flowers?” Lute said, bouncing with excitement. “It’s here, the sun’s back! And it’s so amazing.”

“It’s so beautiful. Everything’s so much more colourful than I remember,” Infia said.

“Honestly, I barely even noticed. We were in the grey for so long that I didn’t realise how bad everything was getting,” Esther said.

“Especially here,” Phoenix said, pacing to admire it all. “The country is still in ruins, but it does not seem so bad all of a sudden.”

“You’ve got that right. And,” Sophitia said, smiling brightly. She snuck a glance at the excited Lute, warmed by the gleam in his eyes. “_You’re finally smiling again._”

“Everyone must be so happy right now. Let’s go back to Everend and—” he said. He froze when he noticed that Naivie was trembling. “Naivie?”

“This isn’t right. This is impossible. The Shaymin are asleep, the ancient flowers aren’t blooming. V Waves aren’t being released! How is there weather?” she shouted. “Don’t tell me that Lassic guy actually did it? Is that an artificial sun?”

“Wait. You mean this isn’t the weather coming back slightly? Not even a little?” he said.

“No! Each Shaymin and flower corresponds to a certain season. If the two we grew awakened without the others being around, their powers would be unbalanced and the weather wouldn’t come out properly. All of it would be extremely polarised in one direction. We’d be having natural disasters!” she said. “Find out where that sun is coming from and stop it!”

“But it feels so nice. How can this be wrong?” Infia said.

“We better get Kuri,” Lute said.

“Er, f-forget them. They’ll catch up to us,” Sophitia said. He tilted his head at her. “I can sense stuff through my feelers, remember? So I sorta know what they’re doing. It’s best to leave them to it right now.”

“But this is serious,” he said.

“Hey if the Agents of King’s Shield have something to do with this, then he won’t come, anyway. He’s wanted by them, remember? We can’t let them know he was with us,” she said.

“Oh yeah. I guess we can ask them about it later. Let’s go and find out what that sun is,” he said with a nod.

They ran off after that, but Sophitia couldn’t help but stop and look back at the hilltop. She lifted her feelers high and then cringed hard. “Yeesh, now I know why Lute hates touchy lovey stuff.”

…

With Angard’s colours returned, they didn’t need Gen to direct them. Given the potential emergency as well, they didn’t need her permission to use the Deposit Box outside her home, so they headed there and used that to warp. That still took a good while, but they arrived at the Ministry of Science in a conveniently short time.

The main street had been evacuated and most of the stores along there had been shut tight. The area was windy in an unnatural way, where bursts of air pushed against everything periodically, like a heartbeat that was pumping wind everywhere. Besides the nasty howls that came with each gush, all was silent.

“Strange wind. But it could be felt all the way from the middle of Angard,” Phoenix said once they came out into open space. They had to shield their eyes from the wind bursts, making looking around difficult.

“Sheesh. So much for that bath. I bet one of their machines is going haywire or something. Nerds choose the best time to do weird stuff, don’t they?” Esther said.

“I don’t think the scientists are responsible,” Infia said, one eye shut as she held her skirt down. “Look!”

They followed her point to the greenery in front of the Ministry’s main skyscraper, where a whole band of Risen had gathered. The muddy monsters were silent, stood in a circular formation around the grassy area. A wider range of species than ever seen before was present, from quadruped Pokémon to even some winged Pokémon, all with the Risen texture of sludgy mud for skin.

They all had their arms and such raised and were sending particles of light up into a giant ball of flames miles above the area. The fireball was large enough to cover most of the sky here, which gave the area a discomfortingly bright gleam. It rendered the area in a heat wave as well, much to everyone’s annoyance.

“They’re using Sunny Day?” Infia tilted her head. “But why?”

“Lute!” a familiar voice made him jump.

“Mum?” Lute cried. Silver, Lassic, and a few other King’s Shield agents were with her. “What’re you doing here?”

“We should be asking the same thing. We never called, but I suppose it’s a good thing. It saves us the trouble,” Silver said.

“Isn’t this dangerous? Get my son out of here,” Marina said.

“They’re agents. They will assist us,” Silver said. “The situation is that these Risen rose up from the ocean somewhere. We don’t know why, but they just started casting this power, and now we have that artificial sun in the sky.”

“Is anybody hurt?” Sophitia said.

“That’s the weird bit. No, they haven’t touched a thing. We evacuated everyone anyway, but to have a zero-damage report is a miracle. Risen normally attack every living thing in sight,” Silver said. “I thought to call Marina here since she has knowledge of things like this.”

“You said the Risen came up from the ocean? But our Rain Dance back there washed them away,” Sophitia said.

“And it should have. Since they’re made of… whatever they’re made of, Risen are usually easily defeated with water. So we can assume that these are some kind of enhanced, evolved Risen,” Silver said. She paced with a hand on her slimy chin. “They’re obviously following orders from someone or something. But I just don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Grr, you’re not just going to attack them anyway?” Marina said.

“Not when you can analyse them. You’re good with artificial intelligence like this. Go and take a look,” she said.

Marina looked back and forth between both parties, appearing angrier than a Mankey. She still obeyed, and walked off while mumbling something to herself. Lute and others watched in concern, but Silver stopped them with a hand and a smile.

“Marina has a history with this sort of thing, you know. She’ll figure it out in no time,” she said.

“Oh? Is she a scientist here, too?” Esther said. “Lute, you never told me your parents were so high-class!”

“She said she used to work here, but that she wasn’t anything special,” he tilted his head.

“You’re about to find out a lot. I was going to call you both here to talk about something very important,” Silver said. “But not now. We deal with this situation first.”

“Do you really think she can do it? And not one of ours?” Lassic said, arms tucked behind his back. “I can contact Athens, if you’d like.”

“No need. She’s coming back already.”

“That was fast,” Infia said.

“You were right on the money. These Risen are enhanced from the usual kind. They’re retaining their conscious, which means that they’re capable of using Pokémon attacks and following orders,” Marina reported, stern and stoic.

“Enhanced Risen. That means we should smash ‘em up real good and fast, right?” Esther said, punching the air.

“Yes. You should.” Marina nodded.

“Please don’t make a muddy mess again.” Infia hung her head.

“No idea why they’re using Sunny Day?” Silver said. The others began to bicker about something, and were quickly dragged off by Esther. Lute and Sophitia stayed back.

“No idea. Maybe Spirle need the sunlight for something? There’s no way to track the command or anything. Part of me believes that this is some kind of field test to see how well they can follow orders. You know, a typical, aimless, Spirle terror move,” Marina said, looking at the floor. “We should be more concerned about the fact that there are now stronger versions of these things that can do Pokémon attacks. I can’t imagine what would happen if all of those things were ordered to just go wild and trash a place. They could really do some riot-level damage.”

“And with a resistance to our prior solution of water, too. Spirle are adapting rather annoyingly.” Lassic scratching his chin. “It looks like Lute’s friends don’t have much trouble with them, though.”

“Huh?” Lute glanced at the action. His eyes widened upon realising that the battle was already over, but not without Esther and company getting mud all over themselves again. They casually walked back over, Esther smiling goofily while Infia looked miserable. The wind had stopped before he realised, but the Sunny Day remained in the sky.

“Er, are you guys okay?” Sophitia said. Phoenix didn’t answer for a second, and then pulled Sophitia onto him, smothering her side in mud. “I should’ve guessed.”

“They were easy to take out. They didn’t even fight back! But they were _dirty_,” Esther said with a giggle. She didn’t seem bothered by the flat faces she got as a reply, even when Lute eventually sighed.

…

“So what’s all this about? You were going to contact me and Lute’s team anyway?” Marina asked as they walked through to the King’s Shield Base. After cleaning up, the whole group were brought in to follow Silver and Lassic.

“The results of your report a while ago have come in, and I feel like it’s time to share some vital information with you,” Silver said. She brought them over to the largest computer screen there. It was a round table lined with keyboards that had a holographic screen in the middle. “I’m talking specifically about your report on the first temple. When you discovered that other Eevee that looks exactly like Lute.”

Marina froze and glared at the Goodra. “Other Eevee?”

“You of all Pokémon know exactly who I’m talking about.” Silver glared back. Marina didn’t say anything, but her face twisted with some heavy movements. It was like she didn’t know what to say, but she kept mouthing something anyway. “So, how are we going to do this? Are you going to tell him yourself? This story would be better coming from your own mouth, after all.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marina said.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. I know that you’ve put the pieces together and figured it out, that’s why you’re looking at me this way,” Silver said. Marina went quiet. “I’m talking about Evoli. It’s him.”

Marina shuddered hard. She shook so hard her feet scraped a bit and drew all eyes to her. She looked terrified, but not in a childish way where she was whimpering or hiding from view. Her fins hung forward and her body went stiff, her collar creating a shade over her eyes.

“M-Mum?” Lute said, hesitant to move.

“This isn’t your idea of a sick joke, is it?” Marina said. Silver hadn’t moved or averted her gaze at all. “That some things are better off left unknown.”

“I have worked with Lassic and many other scientists and agents on this matter. This is now a personal battle against Spirle. In order for us to move forward in our battles against them, we require your help. And we also require our main force to be fully informed,” Silver said.

“Main force? You made them the main force against those terrorists?” Marina raised her voice.

Lute was struck by her tone, and now he was the one childishly terrified. Marina sounded furious. The dangerous kind of furious – she sounded like she was capable of killing someone. He had never seen or heard her like this, not even when she was mad at him for breaking something in the house. Even scarier was the fact that she had the snarl of a Mightyena, yet Silver wasn’t deterred in the slightest.

“I should never have allowed Lute to work for you. If I knew that all you were going to do was bring this up, I should’ve—”

“Don’t talk like this isn’t affecting me, either,” Silver said, raising her voice. She changed tone as well, a fierce snap to her usually calm accent. “If Evoli is alive, then that very well may mean that Jagen is, too. But I have a job to do, and I will see it through. Seeing it through means fighting my own pain.”

Marina growled, but Silver continued to ignore that cutting glare. “If you’re not going to tell them, then I am. Whether you like it or not, they need to know.”

“Er, this is gettin’ kinda serious and it sounds real personal, so should we like, y’know?” Esther said.

“Stay here!” Silver shouted, and she flinched.

“What’s gotten into you two? I’ve never seen you both like this,” Sophitia said. Even Lassic behind them didn’t look like he knew what to say. Silence fell until Lute finally stepped forward and gulped.

“Mum, I… whatever it is you have to say, I’ll listen. You don’t have to—”

“This isn’t something you’re going to accept. This isn’t something anyone can accept. It’s not supposed to be known,” Marina replied. She refused to look at him.

“So you’re not going to tell,” Silver said.

“I never said I wasn’t. Just that it shouldn’t have ever come to this,” she said. She slowly turned to face Lute’s party, where her livid appearance had vanished almost completely. She wasn’t back to being cheerful, but she was focused, and clearly afraid. “You’ve figured it out already, haven’t you? That I used to work here. And that I was actually a pretty big deal.”

“Er, I was curious why you wanted to leave so soon when we came the first time. And why you hated the agents. Did something happen?” Sophitia said. Marina shut her eyes.

“Twenty years ago, V-Wave technology had the biggest breakthrough it had ever seen. Lassic had discovered the V-Wave phenomenon long ago, but I bolstered it. With my theories, the V-Wave technology could be used to accomplish seemingly anything,” Marina said, opening her eyes.

She went to one of the computers and started to tap things on it, having no trouble at all working with it. The speed at which she worked was proof enough of her experience. Various devices showed up on the holograms. “My work for the agents was invaluable. I was able to make suits to explore Moand Dia, blueprints for everyday technology, brand new TMs, even conventional weapons. Pokémon say that Lassic ushered the evolution of the society with have now, but it was actually me. I was the one that figured out how to utilise V-Waves in everyday technology.”

“Whoa, for real? Doesn’t that make Lassic a fraud?” Esther said.

“I allowed him to take the credit for it. He was already the figurehead, and me and my husband were Agents of King’s Shield. Our secret identities were too important,” she said. “But then, sixteen years ago, we started one more project. We began working on something better than a conventional weapon. AI programming that was advanced enough to behave and act as a living Pokémon. I’ll spare you the complex details, but the basic part is that we were working on the creation of artificial Pokémon, disposable soldiers that looked and acted exactly like real Pokémon.”

“Wait, that sounds like,” Infia whispered.

“With the limitless boundaries of V-Waves, we could have these soldiers be of any species, have any ability, and be capable of any move. Pokémon wouldn’t have to work anymore. We could have these soldiers take over every labour of our lives,” Marina said, and turned back to them. The multitude of faces everyone made told her their thoughts. The majority were deeply concerned.

“There’s no need to feel that way. She was following my orders,” Lassic folded his arms. “I suggested the creation of these soldiers as a possibility. Think: why have conventional weaponry when Pokémon that can act independently could accomplish so much more? What better security and surveillance could there be?”

“Me and my husband completed it. We came to a breakthrough. We managed to make our first artificial Pokémon, which was constructed entirely out of energy waves. It was sustainable, required zero maintenance, and did not need nourishment. We called it a V Pocket,” she said. Lute and the others eyes widened, and Phoenix gasped. “But in testing, it backfired. Our formula was wrong, and the whole lab threatened to explode.”

“You created a V Pocket?” Phoenix stepped forward. Marina nodded, and then turned to the glass wall on one side of the room.

“It was right here. Everyone was so proud of our achievement that we brought our families to the grand unveiling. But when we presented it, something went wrong. The V Pocket was going to explode, and due to a chain reaction, threatened to destroy the entire island. Silver’s husband, Jagen, and my husband, Evoli… they both ran into the room, and by some miracle, they managed to mitigate the damage… B-but I still lost everything. Evoli, my kids…” she said, beginning to shudder. She blinked a few times, shifting one foot in front of the other. “It broke me. Everything I had that I could call a success in my life, gone in an instant. Vanishing into relentless flames and screams of agony.”

“That’s horrible. No wonder you quit,” Sophitia said, a feeler on her chest.

“I didn’t. I was given one compensation first,” she said. She turned ever so slowly, and looked down at Lute. Everyone else fell dead silent. “The chance to try again.”

“Ah, but why would you try again? Didn’t the other agents care?” Esther said.

“They did. They allowed me to work on another V Pocket, one that would be for my personal use. And above all else, I’m the one that requested to make it,” Marina said, still staring at Lute. He locked eyes with her, and his heart sank.

He knew what was coming. But he didn’t want it to be said. Not by Marina.

“I perfected my formula. And I tried to bring back my husband. I made a V Pocket in the exact likeness of my deceased husband, Evoli,” she said.

It took an eternity for the reality of the story to sink in. Fur stood on end, teeth were grit, eyes were widened, and breaths became unsettled and hefty. Almost a full minute passed, and no one said a word.

Lute was shaking. Everything was going blurry besides his view of Marina. He couldn’t even feel his legs anymore, as if they had turned to jelly. He was sweating and shivering, wanting to be sick and black out. He was trying to physically throw himself into a nightmare, an absurd nightmare where he could wake up and believe that what he had just heard wasn’t real. He couldn’t control himself, and staggered about, his mouth beginning to move on its own.

“I’m… I can’t be. I’m your husband?” he cried. Marina shook her head.

“No. You are my perfect V Pocket, a perfect replica of my husband. My only remaining son,” she said. She shut her eyes and turned away. “Back then, all I could think about was bringing back Evoli. I didn’t care about anything else. I was so desperate… so misguided by emotion. But the moment you came out of that test tube, crying like a new-born, I realised the inexcusable sin I had made.”

“And that’s when you quit,” Sophitia said.

“And nobody held me contempt for it. I quit the agents, taking Lute and all of my research with me. King’s Shield would never try to create a V Pocket ever again. It was deemed far too dangerous, and after consideration, much too immoral. Creating a life that would just aimlessly follow our orders…” Marina said, finally sounding like she was beginning to break down. “I couldn’t do that to you, Lute. I wanted to raise you as my son and just leave it at that. And I really did feel like your mother, teaching you things, seeing you discover things, and grow to love life. Even when it came to you becoming an agent here, I knew I couldn’t stop you. It was best not to stop you. I never imagined I would ever have to tell you all this.”

“And now you know. Evoli is alive,” Silver said.

“This is news to me,” Lassic said, scratching his chin. “I was aware that you quit, but I was told that all records on V Pockets were deleted. I approved of that request from your team. Why didn’t I know that you created one more?”

“It was as secret as my connection to the agents. So basically, it’s a secret to everybody. Even you,” Marina said. “Until now, me and Silver were the only ones who knew. If we were successful, we were going to bring back our families.”

“Remarkable. With the exception of retaining Evoli’s memories, you were successful?” Lassic said. “And you just have this knowledge? On artificial Pokémon?”

“Hold on a royal minute. Don’t make me start swearing, Lassic,” Esther said. “This whole thing’s twisted as heck. Why do you sound so excited?”

“Because it’s remarkable. It’s shocking. This, this means something to me, too,” he said. He approached Lute, but the others stood around him, wary. “This defies belief. This here Eevee isn’t a living Pokémon, but a bundle of V-Waves programmed to act as a living Pokémon? Truly?”

“He is my son first and foremost. Before anything, you’re going to treat him like one,” Marina said.

“But he is capable of things beyond a normal Eevee. Beyond an ordinary Pokémon. He can be reprogrammed, upgraded, _fixed_. That alone warrants an in depth—”

“It warrants jack shit! Don’t you dare lay a paw on him you creep!” Esther shouted and pushed her way between them.

“Lute is Lute! Whether he’s a V Pocket or not, he’s still a living Pokémon,” Infia said, paws closed into fists.

“Like they say, I do believe it is about time you started treating us altered Pokémon like we belong here,” Phoenix said, stood beside them.

“Okay, please. I apologise. I’m not going to do anything.” Lassic backed off with arms raised. “That was my inventor mind speaking there. I get excited when I learn things like this. I’m sorry, truly, I am.”

Lute began to zone out of their bickering. He was still dazed and dizzy from what he had just learnt. He didn’t know how to feel anymore. One thing became clear to him: he was now in Infia’s position, where he had to decide how he wanted to live.

He could childishly ignore it all, pretending that the outpour from his mother didn’t happen. Keep calling himself a living Pokémon like his friends argued, and live as he always had. He would have to keep fighting the expectations slammed on him by all the other Pokémon he’d met. The Spirle High Points that wanted to know his ‘special powers’, the agents right here who wanted him to stand up to Spirle, and his friends who wanted him to live a normal life with them.

Who was he kidding? Life was never going to be the same again.

Words echoed in his head. Horrible memories of his battles and desperation to be someone special. Well, now, everyone had what they wanted. He was someone special. A V Pocket. A programmable thing that could do anything they wanted him to do. If he embraced this fate, his achievements would skyrocket. With only the limits of Marina’s programming, he could make short work of any task. He could even be turned into anything they wanted, but he would be at the mercy of their orders and expectations.

Something was happening, and he really did feel sick. He fell down and moaned weakly, paws on his head. The others noticed and surely began to panic, but he couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying. He couldn’t even feel their touch. All that he could hear was the continuous repetition of all the Pokémon who wanted him to be something for them.

No. It was hatred.

He hated Pokémon. He hated them for their ludicrous aims, their expectations, their love of fighting and disruption to life… their vile evil.

And now his own mother was counted amongst that evil as the creator of the V Pocket. The one who potentially set all of this in motion. He hated how hard these King’s Shield missions were. He hated the battles, the false relationships, the difficulty. The very fact that he was an existing thing, a sin of reality. A tool that merely fit into all of this drama. He didn’t want to be here, knowing that he was this.

“Enough!” Lute yelled at the top of his voice. A psychic blast released from him, enveloping the room in a piercing screech. Computers crackled and blew up, glass smashed, and Pokémon screamed in pain. He was left huffing in the centre of shards of destruction, but he didn’t wait for anyone to get up. He drew back, breathed in a cry, and roared to release his electric attack at the nearest wall.

Another blast went off, this one strong enough to destroy the wall. He ran through the smoke immediately, knowing that his attack had opened the way.

“St-stop him. Don’t let him escape!” Lassic coughed as he fought his way to his feet.

“Lute!” Sophitia cried, using her shield and sword to fight the rubble he had generated. She coughed on dust and debris, sheathing her weapons to use her feelers. With his emotions on high, she could sense him even if he got a mile away. “Wait but that’s towards- Lute!”

She ran faster than she thought she could. She wound up jumping through holes in walls, and soon enough, she reached a hole in the ceiling. It wasn’t a fancy escape route created by the agents, but a devastated ruin of a path with leaking pipes, crumbling debris, and leaking gas fires. She couldn’t help but gawk up at it, and shook with fear. “Is this the power of the V Pocket?”

She had to back up for a running jump, and then hung from her feelers to climb the rest of the way. It was a struggle, and by the time she made it out, she was covered in scratches, dirt, and sweat. She came out in the centre of the Ministry, and spotted Lute by the entrance to the nature reserve. They locked eyes only briefly, but the moment they did, he turned tail and sprinted. “Lute wait, stop!”

She wasn’t as fast as him, though. She lost him in the hedges and resorted to jumping over the exhibits, fighting her breathless state to keep him in sight. He ran right through until he reached the edge of the island, where the fairy relic was. She found him stood on the railing, looking out to the sea.

“Lute!” Sophitia screamed. But that was it. She couldn’t say another word, and hung her head to catch her breath. Her chest burnt, her body ached, and sweat dripped from her forehead.

“I don’t… want… to be here,” Lute said, his voice stoic and empty. That got her to look up. In the brief chance she got to see him just now, she noted the terrifying appearance of his eyes. His pupils had vanished, replaced by nothing but fizzling static. Glitchy patterns of sickening colours. He fell over the barrier in a limp pose, and she flew into a panic.

“Lute!” Sophitia screamed again. Not caring about how tired she was, she leapt right over the rails after him.

They were freefalling for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for her. An eternity of chaos and terror. She was much too far away to catch him, and she could barely move her body altogether. She had no breath, no energy. All she could think about was catching him, almost blacking out from how hard she hit the water.

Powerful waves punched her, while a frightening chill whipped her aches into overdrive. She choked instantly, a painful pang searing her chest as salty water forced its way into her lungs. She struggled for only a moment, but all she could see was the light filtering through the surface getting further away from her. A stream of bubbles rose while she wasn’t, even though she felt as though she was kicking her legs to fight the waves.

She was barely awake, yet too weak to swim. She couldn’t even close her mouth, her vision darkening as smaller and more desperate bubbles escaped her. Soon enough, only the sound of underwater was present, and her consciousness faded.


	23. Rising Spirle

“Lute. C’mon, get up already,” Naivie groaned. He didn’t respond, so she growled and began to bash his head. “Get up dang you! Can the fate of Aseria really depend on such a lazy boy?”

Lute didn’t say a word, but he did raise a paw. Without looking up from his slouched position on his bed, he caught her and tossed her aside. She hit the wall beside the door just as Esther was tiptoed in, mumbling a curse as she sank to the floor.

“Naivie?” Esther said. She looked around the room and downed her ears at the darkened tone of it all. The curtains were closed, some belongings were scattered on the floor, and there were three bowls of untouched food. What was cooked had gone off, and what wasn’t had gone hard from being left out in the open.

“Geez, you haven’t eaten a thing in so long, Lute. You must be famished. Can’t do anything if your tummy has the rumblies, can you?” she said.

“Go away,” he said, his voice muffled by the bedsheets.

“Na-uh-uh. Not until you eat this freshly made—”

“I said go away,” he raised his voice. He got up in a flash and kicked her, making her drop the plate in her paws. She fell backward, in shock and covered in sauce. He didn’t bat an eye at it however, and went right back under his blanket.

“Lute, if you keep that up we’re gonna run outta food,” she said, a slight shudder in her voice. He didn’t answer. His tail didn’t even move. “I know you’re hurt by everything that happened, but come on. You can’t stay like this. Everyone’s worried about you. We need you.”

He was quiet for a while. “You don’t.”

“We do! We dunno where Kuri is. And he wouldn’t help us even if we made him, you know he won’t. So our legend’s at a standstill until you decide to get up,” she said. He still didn’t move. “Those evolved Risen have been showing up all over the place now, too. They’re doing all sorts of stuff. Stealing, breaking into shops, attacking Pokémon… and they’re super tough to take down. Whatever Spirle are doing, they’re making their moves now, ya’know?”

But he still didn’t budge. Not a twitch. Even when she started to growl. “Alright. I’ve had enough of this. It’s been two weeks, Lute. Two weeks of sulking alone in here. Not even Infia was this weak. And I sure as hell didn’t fall in love with someone who’d get beaten down by something like this.”

That got him to move, although it was only to roll over to face her. She was stern and stiff, paws curled into fists. “Like, I get it. You’re a literal product of society. All other Pokémon want from you is what you can do for them. And your reason for being created is nothing but gross, too,” she said. She kept as still as she could while she spoke, but little shakes of tears came through her voice. “I’ve seen it all before. I could’ve stayed an idol until I was unpopular. Phoenix could’ve stayed as Spirle’s test dummy. Infia could’ve been labelled Victoria’s defect, too. But we all moved on, ya’know? None of us are gonna let others decide who we are. Only our feelings are allowed to choose that.”

“All I care about right now is how much I hate how everything has turned out,” he said, half lidded and empty. “I just want to destroy it all. I don’t even want to be alive.”

“Then why did you save Sophitia? Why didn’t you let her die? Why didn’t you destroy Marina?” She grit her fangs.

Lute had to think about that one, and turned away. Besides these regular visits from his friends, nothing else had happened since the unveil, so everything was still fresh in his memory. He remembered drowning and magically recovering from it. It felt like torture, deprived of breath and aching from head to toe.

But moments later, all the pain and discomfort vanished. Somehow, despite staying underwater for longer than any air breather should have been able to, he fully recovered despite doing nothing. In fact, his vision became as clear as it was on land, and his hearing enhanced to pick up sounds from miles away. His aches stopped and he could practically fly through the water. This was even after he choked and spasmed in an effort to gain oxygen.

The moment he realised that he was okay, his focus locked onto the drowning Sophitia. She was passed out, so it was easy for him to swim over. He caught her in his front paws and shot for the surface, and breathed water the whole time. It was probably the most heroic he had ever looked, yet it felt the most disturbing.

“Never mind all that. Isn’t that okay?” Naivie said. She was fluttered between him and Esther. “So you hate this world that’s created you, huh? And you wanna destroy everything that contributed to it.”

Lute didn’t answer, but his eyes thinned.

“Then let’s go do that. And this isn’t even some fancy twist and stuff to get you to do what I want. This world is filthy! So let’s destroy it by awakening the remaining flowers. Do that, and everyone gets what they want.”

“Naivie!” Esther cried.

“Trying to get me to follow your orders like I’m so kind of slave. That’s exactly what I’ve grown to hate about everyone,” Lute said, as he coiled back to into bed.

“Hold up, listen for a sec. You remember that when the flowers are awakened, V-Wave technology stops working, right? But aren’t you a product made entirely outta V-Waves?” she said. He got up again. “Exactly. You destroy the basis of society, and you stop functioning, too. You wanna die, so you take the world with you. You already tried to kill yourself once, so might as well do something useful with it.”

“Naivie, that’s fucking horrible!” Esther cried.

“But it’s what he wants. The world isn’t gonna change as long as V-Wave stuff keeps existing. So if you wanna remove it all as well as yourself, do it all in one fell swoop with the help of the ancient flowers,” Naivie said.

“That’s still a horrible way of thinking. What kind of twisted masochist do you have to be to help someone kill themselves for your own gain? Weren’t we friends?” Esther said.

“Ha! Hardly. With stuff like this, I can’t afford to let emotions and ‘friendship’ get in the way of stuff that has to be done. It’s do or die for the world. Friendship has no place in it,” Naivie said.

“That’s a good way of thinking, actually,” Lute said, getting up. Esther took in a breath. “I’m tired of treating everyone like fake friends.”

“Don’t say that,” Esther said. She held him in place, but he didn’t fight back. “We’re friends, aren’t we? We understand each other more than most Pokémon.”

Lute’s face tightened. “You’re annoying, you know that?”

She gasped and flinched back.

“You’re annoying. You’re obsessive and controlling, and you have no sense of shame. Your idea of us being friends was you inserting yourself into my life and dragging me into this mess, careless about how I felt or how any of it really affected me,” he said. He completely ignored her look of disbelief. “And then you have the nerve to try and coax me with asinine statements like falling in love with me? You and I were never friends. That was just a dumb status you convinced yourself you had for your own satisfaction.”

“But I- we—” she mouthed, shuddering. “I-I m-meant… I didn’t—”

“Hey, you confessed, and he responded. You can either deal with this maturely, or run off crying like a sissy,” Naivie said. Esther let out a hoarse groan and then stifled it after a second, left shuddering with a furious glare on her face.

“You’re both vile,” she said slowly, and stormed out. She slammed the door so hard it sounded like the frame cracked.

“Gotta admit I’m surprised. I expected the running away and crying part. I wonder how long she’ll throw out underhanded comments for?” Naivie said. “But hey, try not to cut through the others too deeply, okay? We do still need them to be wanting to do this, too.”

Lute didn’t reply. He began to sort out his room, retrieved his bag and the important tools he needed. Naivie watched him in interest, and then sat on his bed.

“You and I, we’re going to do this, no matter what it takes. It’s super easy to wind up being misunderstood, but remember that it’s your prayers that grows those flowers. The world will end up the way you and the other heroes want it to be,” she said. “I’m not doubting you or anything, but if at any point you do change your mind on feeling the way you do now, you have the time to do so. Not even I can stop you from doing that.”

“That was surprisingly sentimental coming from you. You wanted this all along, didn’t you?” he said.

“All the matters to me is that the heroes do their jobs and awaken the ancient flowers. I don’t care how it gets done. Maybe it’s fate that you were supposed to die along with it, I dunno. I reckon your little Minun friend has figured that out already too, but she thinks she’s being strong by keeping a tight lip on it. And I haven’t the faintest what’ll happen to Phoenix,” she said. “But all the heroes are chosen for a reason. Whatever the future holds, you all will decide what it is and know what’s best for it.”

“So it’s less of a personal wish, but a mission implanted on your own being,” he said. She froze, her eyes wide. “So you’re just like me. A slave to your orders. You don’t even know what’s going to come of this, do you?”

“Okay that part I do know. I was born to see this through, so everything that happens regarding the legend, I know all about,” she said cheerfully.

“But have you seen it happen? Do you know what kind of prayers and wishes are actually going into those flowers?” he said.

Naivie’s eyes widened again. For the first time, the miniature fairy looked flustered, her ear-like wings ceasing to flap for a moment. It made Lute snicker, and he got up to leave. “If I were you, I’d start thinking for yourself before it’s too late.”

Before she could respond, Esther’s scream rung through the house, and they exchanged glances. The instant Lute pulled the door open, Naivie flew out, while he trotted after her.

At the front of the house, Spirle High Points Victor and Victoria were out in the open, and between them was a massive Pokémon he hadn’t seen before. Sophitia and the others looked as though they had been fighting for a while, but Esther was knelt down at the back of the group. He thought she had simply taken an attack that had grounded her until he noticed a huge red stain on her side, barely covered by her paw. It was steadily spreading, too – she was still bleeding.

“Esther, get a hold of yourself! You know that charging at these two isn’t gonna work,” Sophitia said. She had her shield and sword out.

“Stay still, I can take care of this,” Infia said as she laid her paws on the wound. The Pikachu cringed, but once Infia’s healing move started, she settled a bit.

“Now then, are we done playing children’s games? We’re busy Pokémon, you know,” Victoria said. “You’ve already made fools of yourselves by underestimating me again. Keep wasting our time, and I can’t promise you I’ll hold back your punishment.”

“And trust me, Victoria’s punishments mean real business. A beating from her is worse than a beating from mummy’s belt!” Victor said. His Spritzee partner slumped forward.

“Do you have to put it so embarrassingly?” she said.

“It ain’t embarrassing, sweetheart. It’s called brutal honesty. No doubt they’re peeing themselves just picturing it, ha!” he said.

“Working with you is so embarrassing,” she said. She palmed her face with a wing. “But we aren’t joking. Marina. Come quietly, or the lot of you will pay the price.”

“Marina?” Lute said quietly. Marina was in fact amongst them, feet spread like she was ready to fight. “_What do they want with her? Or did they somehow figure out that she built me?_”

“I dunno what you want with her, but I’m not gonna let you get away with the kidnapping routine again,” Sophitia said.

She leapt towards them and swung her sword overhead, hitting the ground where Victoria once was. She pointed her other feeler where the fairy types had jumped to release a Fairy Wind attack in their direction. The attack passed right through them however, and their forms vanished.

“How can you think to do so when you can’t even see me?” Victoria’s voice taunted her. Before she knew it, she was inside of a cloud of pink perfume, unable to see. She could only hear the laughter of the two fairies, to which she growled.

“_Curse her illusions. Don’t let it trip you, Sophie. Emotions, find their feelings,_” she thought as she raised all four feelers.

To Lute however, he could see everything. The duo had simply spread out, and Victoria was glowing to signify the use of her powers. He was tempted to charge her with Quick Attack right there and then, but something stopped him.

“_With the power to make illusions of anything that are so real that you can feel them, it’s a wonder that they aren’t able to just walk away with Marina. Unless, something is stopping them from doing that,_” he thought to himself, observing. His eyes locked to the giant Pokémon that hadn’t moved since he arrived. “_And then there’s that thing._”

The bipedal creature was covered from head to toe in shell that resembled battle armour, all as shiny and smooth as metal. The turquoise sheen contrasted with its large, dark eyes. Huge arms failed to hide its tough nails, two on each claw. The armour theme carried on across most of its back and its legs, but its front was mostly exposed. However, with the four ant-like feet gathered near its mouth, each with a nail on the end, it hardly looked like a weak spot.

“Sophitia, they’re on your left,” Infia cried. Sophitia was too late to react, and wound up tackled to the floor by Victor. She fought with the Swirlix with a kick and a slap, but they were brought to a stop when he chomped on her shield to lock them in place.

Instead of trying and shake him off, Sophitia flipped to her feet and brought him close, and then pressed her lips to his side. It looked to be an unprecedented move until the Swirlix’s body began to glow and burn and he started screaming. It wasn’t long before he detached, with a curse and a huff.

“Draining Kiss! You sly little witch,” he shouted.

“Good. Now you guys know that the same tricks won’t work twice,” she said.

“Don’t get cocky. You just caught me off guard,” Victor said. “Ha. Wait a minute. There he is. The star player.”

“Star player?” Sophitia whispered. She did a double take once she realised that Lute was there. “Lute?”

He sighed now that all the attention was on him. Everyone seemed surprised, besides Esther who puffed out her cheeks and looked away. He slowly advanced and paid them little interest.

“Not another step. We brought back up just for you.” Victoria pointed at him. But he didn’t stop walking. “Hey, are you listening to me?”

“The big Pokémon in the centre? I’m not afraid of him,” he said.

Victoria squinted. “Cocky since you damaged Storm, are you? You’ll live to regret it if you carry on like that. Rhodeas, activate!”

Her words caused the Pokémon to stand taller, its claws and nails pulled into a stance. Lute stopped in place the moment it reacted, but he kept his eyes on it. He couldn’t help himself. His breath became tenser and his heart picked up, and now his mind was trying to convince him that he wasn’t afraid. This Pokémon was massive, and any one of its nails looked like it could pierce right through him.

“Lute, wait! That thing is powerful. Be more careful,” Marina called out. Sophitia growled and leapt to his side with her shield out.

“I dunno what your plan is, but I’ll ask you about it later,” she said. She held her shield in front of them both.

“Not going to ask me why I’m here?” Lute asked after a moment.

“Not really the time, is it?” she said.

“Hmpf. You’ll be in the way. Don’t bother.” He rolled his eyes.

“He’s right, you know. This one is a V-Wave enhanced Risen, the finest Spirle has ever created,” Victoria said. Now Lute’s eyes were wide. “A Golisopod is already a formidable Pokémon. Powered up through V-Waves, the very essence of Pokémon attacks and abilities… Rhodeas is legendary in power.”

“If he’s really so powerful, then why didn’t you use him in the first place?” Phoenix said. Embers leaked from his mouth.

“Because—” Victor said, and then choked on his words. He turned to his partner with a nervous sweat. “Actually, he’s got a good question. If we have this ultimate creature of destruction, why aren’t we just using it to make life easy?”

“Victor, oh Victor. It is uncouth. Don’t you know about keeping things exciting? We need push the limits of their disobedience. They could listen to us and make life easy, or they could struggle, and force us to have to use such a powerful weapon.”

Weapon. There it was. That last word rung alarm bells in Lute’s head, and brought him back to that livid focus he had brewed these past two weeks. That they spoke of a clearly living Pokémon this way, and were going to order it around like a pet, it disgusted him.

“Or, if investigations are anything to go by,” Sophitia said. “This here is another of Spirle’s prototype enhanced Risen. And this little scenario is your field test for it. You’ve never actually used this Risen in battle, have you? You have little idea of how it’s going to perform.”

The enemy fairies glared at her, making her snicker. “Looks like I was right.”

“You can hype it up all you want, but it won’t be enough to defeat me,” Lute said. He bared his fangs at it. “The things I’m capable of now, I couldn’t possibly lose to something like this.”

“Lute wait, that’s not how it works,” Marina gasped.

“That _is_ how it works. You said it to me yourself!” he said.

“He’s totally takin;’ the gamble. If he’s askin’ for it, might as well give it to ‘em,” Victor said, snickering.

“Rhodeas! Give him the First Impression. And don’t hold back on it.” Victoria pointed a wing.

Lute appeared focused, but his chest went into overdrive. He was frightened to the point he could throw up, but just about managed to stiffen and brace for the battle. That is, if the battle went the way he expected. His eyes were focused solely on the Golisopod and nothing else, not even his surroundings. So when it took one step forward and vanished from view, it was like a heart attack, where he had an instant to react before a crisis.

Rhodeas reappeared after it had struck him, impacting Lute’s neck with the space between its nails. There was a pause of time where all feeling disappeared from his body and a lifeless cry escaped his mouth alongside a wave of spit. And then the next thing he knew, his surroundings were blurring past him, followed by the sounds of crushing rock and destruction.

The others mouths hit the floor, turning a few seconds after the attack had been delivered. Their reactions couldn’t keep up. In the time span of a single breath, Lute had been struck so hard his body had gone through the walls of the house behind them. Looking through the holes left behind, he had gone further that, knocked through all the walls of the house and out of sight.

“A-amazing,” Victoria said on a staggered breath.

“Good Arceus, it freaking killed him. You killed him, dude!” Victor said.

“I-I-I didn’t mean t-to, I had no idea Rhodeas had that kind of power?” she said, her voice a total flip of her confidence from earlier. Sophitia turned to them, a fear triggered by Victoria’s sudden panic.

“What kind of weapon is this?” Phoenix said, glaring at the Golisopod. It was still in the pose of when it struck Lute.

Contrary to everyone’s concerns, Lute’s body remained intact. He had gone through the house and his body had skidded to a halt as it rolled across the earth, leaving a deep ditch in its place. It had left him feeling numb and empty, almost like his whole being had turned to jelly.

But it had equally triggered exactly what he thought it would trigger. That robotic focus that transcended realistic feelings. Despite being struck so hard, he was conscious, and his mind could think of nothing other than that Golisopod. It was his target for assassination, and nothing else mattered.

With vision, hearing, and smell keen enough to track the creature from however far away he was, he stood up and braced himself. His body was bursting with energy for Pokémon attacks, so much that the air around him began to fluctuate, tiny rocks and mess floating around him. He erupted with a feral roar, and a gush of wind expanded the ditch around him. He abandoned it with ease, to leap back towards the battle with a faster Quick Attack than he had ever used.

“Wait, what’s—” Victoria said. She squinted to look in Lute’s direction. Rhodeas reacted with a cry of its own before she did.

Before anyone could realise what had happened, Lute’s Quick Attack crashed into Rhodeas’ arm and sent it back a few paces. It guarded the hit and pushed against him, but growled hard in effort. It didn’t get a chance to try anything else however, as it looked over its armour briefly to see Lute crackling with electricity. His electric attack was launched right in Rhodeas’ face, causing it to cry out and topple over.

“Wait, is that Lute?” Esther gasped; arms crossed over her front. Just those two attacks from him released so much force that wind whipped everyone’s fur, those unaware knocked to their feet.

“Lute?” Sophitia whispered. His eyes had that same terrifying glow they had when he attempted to drown himself: empty, fizzling, and erratic.

Despite crackling with paralysis, Rhodeas got up and resumed a battle unlike anything anyone had ever seen. The Golisopod and Eevee moved at blinding speeds, Lute a blur of brown that darted to and fro to strike with Quick Attack while Rhodeas tried to guard each hit with its armour. It was able to retaliate despite Lute’s ferocity, slashing the air with its claws to set off sparks and force. Their battle was nothing short of violent ad bloodthirsty.

“You two. Don’t just stand there, do something. Or someone’s going to get hurt!” Marina shouted at Victor and Victoria. The two fairies were in a daze, and replied with a horrified look.

“V-Victoria, you can command him to stop, right? I think it’s safe to say he’s going outta control,” Victor said.

“I-I, u-um—” she said.

“Victoria! Before we lose our Risen!” he cried.

“I-I know, I got it, I got it. Rhodeas, return!” she called at the top of her voice.

But it was no use. Attacks were clashed and powerful moves flew all over the place, but everything came to a pause when the blade of a Razor Shell pierced Lute right through the middle of his waist. Lute was held up high from the blade, but it didn’t deter him in the slightest. He didn’t even make a sound of pain. Hung high up and at point blank range, Lute unleashed a huge orb of electricity directly into his enemy.

His attack freed him from the Razor Shell and brought Rhodeas to the floor. The Golisopod groaned and roared as volts seared through its body. By now, lots of ditches had formed, while nearby buildings had huge dents and burns where stray blasts had hit, some even damaged with holes in them.

But Lute didn’t care. He watched the weakened Golisopod like a hunter waiting for their prey to stop struggling. Rhodeas eventually fell forward onto its claws. Only when its defeat was a certainty did Lute’s eyes return to normal, and the energy surrounding him visually dissipated.

“Haven’t you ever seen a paralysed Pokémon before?” he said. It took Victoria a moment to realise she was being spoken to, and she flinched when their eyes met. “Get out. And never come back.”

She staggered and shivered, her eyes darting all over the place. “Is this… truly the power of the V Pockets?”

No one answered her, but once she saw Lute’s impatient eyes again, she knew to move. She growled and flew over to her fallen comrade. “Victor! C’mon, we’re out of here.”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. He looked over at everyone. “You might wanna put that thing on a leash.”

They vanished in the light of an escape orb. But for moments after they left, no one said a word. All was still besides the others getting to their feet, and eventually, the public gathering around. Lute spared all the townspokémon a glance, surprised by the wave of anger and fear plastered across their states. He froze when he spotted Lassic amongst them, who clapped slowly.

“You picked a good time to show up,” Lute said.

“Your hostility is only natural. However, I assure you, it is unneeded,” he said. “Let’s take this inside. This isn’t for the public to hear.”

…

“What you saw was the results of how I programmed Lute. Back then, I was focused on ensuring that he would be the start of my revived family, so I took extra precautions to ensure that he couldn’t be killed easily,” Marina said. Everyone was sat around the dinner table. They had to ignore the giant holes in the walls. “To understand how this works is to understand what V-Waves are and how they work. V-Waves are the essence of Pokémon attacks and abilities, treated as a weather phenomenon.”

Phoenix spoke up. “When the V-Wave favours a certain type of Pokémon, all Pokémon of that type experience a boost in energy and will find it easier to execute their moves and abilities. This is basic knowledge in Aseria.”

Marina nodded. “And we now manipulate the V-Wave with programming, allowing us to create computers and other technology that can do all sorts of things. The V-Pocket is a living AI with a physical form made up entirely of V-Waves,” she said. “To ensure that Lute couldn’t die easily, I gave him programming that focuses on the theme of ‘Adaptability’. That happens to be a Pokémon ability, in case you’re wondering.”

“Adaptability?” Sophitia said.

“Lute’s body is set to react to certain situations it is put under, and then bolster his abilities accordingly, absorbing all manner of surrounding V-Waves in attempt to adapt to the circumstances. In simple words, when Lute is in battle, his body will absorb V-Waves to power him up until he’s strong enough to fight the foe or at least escape,” she said. She began to draw a diagram with her paws. “This is what we just saw. In no circumstances should any Eevee have been able to tank the hit that Lute did. But he absorbed it, grew to match Rhodeas’ strength, and then retaliated, suddenly having enough power to defeat Rhodeas.”

“Because Rhodeas was so powerful, the strength we’re talking about is… well,” Sophitia said, a feeler on her chin. She gestured to the holes in the walls, and gulped.

“Exactly. You catch on fast. It can be destructive. I dread to say it, but possibly even godly. In theory, Lute is invincible,” Marina said. “It even adapts to environmental changes. If he’s underwater, he stops requiring oxygen. If he’s in lava, his body will resist.”

“Holy shit Marina, way to make him overpowered!” Esther cried.

“Can you at least talk as if I’m part of this conversation? You wanted me to be here,” Lute said.

“Sorry. But like I said, my original aim was to revive my family, my husband first and foremost. If I had the chance to make you invulnerable, I took it,” Marina said. “But there are two things. You are in a ‘natural state’ almost constantly, like you are now. If something should knock you out at your current strength, it will. Your body won’t adapt if you simply pass out, and whether you want it to or not, your body is programmed to be like a normal Pokémon inside and out. So carry on not eating, and you will pass out from hunger. Try not to sleep, and you will faint from fatigue.”

Lute gave a gruff groan. He hadn’t eaten a morsel in two weeks and felt fine, so he wasn’t sure that that part was true. However, he had found himself passing out into long hours of sleep, where he had apparently snored, even. That felt like an obnoxious limitation beyond his control.

“Secondly, and most importantly… I built you with a failsafe.” Marina shut her eyes.

“A… failsafe?” Phoenix said.

“As desperate as I was, I’m not so incompetent that I would create something like this and not have a way of stopping it should things get out of my control. So yes, you have a failsafe. A shutdown function. A forced ‘off switch’,” she said.

“So if you wanted to, I really am at your mercy,” he said. Marina shook her head.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever listen or believe me ever again, but I mean it when I say that you’re my son first and foremost before everything. And you never won’t be,” she said. “But, and this is the most hypothetical ‘but’ ever, if some extreme circumstance should ever occur and go wrong, I will power you off.”

“A question. Is it possible that Lute’s adaptability can yield new Pokémon attacks, too?” Sophitia said. “We’ve seen you use that electric and psychic type attack a few times now, but I still can’t put a paw on what moves they really are. The electric move instantly paralyses, and the psychic one puts up Light Screen.”

“Yes. That would be caused by absorbing huge amounts of a specific type of V-Wave, particularly when that V-Wave is in use. If Lute spent extended amounts of time near an electric or psychic type when his adaptability activated, it would trigger unique moves using those two types,” Marina said.

“Would that be because of me and Esther? All those times I used Helping Hand with you.” Infia said.

“Oh yeah, right. And I guess Gen has a paw in it, too.” Sophitia tilted her head. “Although, that begs to question, why no fairy or fire type move? Me and Phoenix have been with him way more than Gen. Did we just like, not resonate?”

“It’s certainly possible. There are so many factors that play a role in it,” Marina said. She cleared her throat. “My main reason for telling you this, though. Please Lute, for the love of Arceus, don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. You can still get hurt very badly, you can still get knocked out, you can still die, and you can still feel pain. You have to look after yourself.”

“And then what would’ve happened back there? Just let them kidnap you? And what does it matter if I get hurt, anyway. You just told everyone how powerful I am. If pain makes me stronger, then it doesn’t matter,” he said.

“By far, I am no longer the only one who will be hurt by seeing you in pain. I’m sure everyone here can agree that it’s frustrating seeing you like this. I never meant for things to end up this way,” she said.

“But they have, and it’s all because you decided to make me. Just like everything else wrong with this world. It’s better I don’t exist. I’m just another disposable tool in the grand scheme of things. I could die, and nobody would care eventually. You can deny it all you want, but it’s no secret truth.”

“Lute, don’t say awful things like that. I-if you died, we—” Infia said.

“We’re not having this conversation again. That’s not why Lassic came here.” He turned away.

“Actually, it is,” the Delphox said. He got up and approached, and then to everyone’s surprise, bowed down on his knees.

“Lassic?” Marina gasped.

“Please. Allow me to apologise for everything I have caused you, and for my disgusting display two weeks ago. On behalf of every King’s Shield agent, and all our teams working on science and technology, we never meant for such a sinful turn of events,” he said. Lute expected to be disturbed as he spoke, but he felt a sense of genuine remorse instead. “And to know that you feel such a way after your experiences. We are entirely at fault. No amount of apology or respect will resolve this… but if there is anything we may do to repay you personally, please name it. We will see to it where realistically possible.”

Lute didn’t respond, actually speechless. He kept his mouth shut, but he half expected some kind of bad-taste joke to come out. But there wasn’t. Lassic remained bowed until he actually started to feel awkward about it. “Okay I get it. Get up. S-seeing you like this is just off-putting.”

“Your service thus far has been phenomenal. To lose you as an ally over some hard feelings would be a critical loss to Aseria’s safety,” Lassic said.

“So you did come here for other reasons,” he said.

“Only relating to duty, Lute. Scenarios like what we just experienced have become commonplace across Aseria. The evolved Risen are very powerful enemies, and the common public cannot deal with them. We could use you out there, fighting amongst your friends,” Lassic said, paws tucked behind him.

“I’ll pass. We have our own thing to be doing, anyway,” Lute said.

“What kind of attitude is that? Lassic of all Pokémon actually came out of his way to apologize and plead, and you’re still gonna be a rude ass to him, too?” Esther said. “When did you become such a- argh!”

“Lassic’s only apologizing to get me to follow his orders again. It’s no different from the rest,” he said.

“That’s so that we can help Pokémon, though. Can’t we just stay as agents so we can do good things?” Infia said.

“Keep your original goal in mind,” Sophitia said, surprisingly calm. Lute glanced at her. “You just want to follow the legend at this point, right? So that we can become true heroes.”

“And if Spirle get in the way of that, we’ll knock them aside, like we always have,” he said with a nod.

“But if we do that…” Esther said. She gulped and turned away. “Nothing. Forget it. Fine, we’ll do this.”

“Shall we consider your team off-duty, then? You can keep your status as agents, but unless an emergency occurs nearby, we will not call you. You need not report to us your activities either, unless related,” Lassic said as he came to Lute’s side. He crouched and gestured to pat him on the head. “Consider it a holiday. Take a load off for a while, okay? Go back to being an ordinary boy, and see how you feel after a while. A change of horizons and pace works wonders for clearing your head.”


	24. The Oldest Village in Aseria

“We have to change gondola in Pokétopia anyway, so we might as well take a break there and drop off Marina,” Phoenix said, sat down in the gondola. “You are free to take care of your issue.”

“Thank you,” Infia said quietly. The others didn’t say anything, but there was an obvious shift of discomfort from Lute. He had been silent since they left Everend, and spent the trip staring out the window at the dull sky. Only Sophitia had dared to stay close to him, but she didn’t say anything. It was difficult to.

“I’ll try not to be long. Sorry about this.” Infia bowed when they came to a stop. She was the first to step off into the station.

“What’s got you in a rush, anyway? Did something happen?” Marina said.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something,” she said.

“Well, go ahead. You could’ve asked me any time,” Marina said.

“Um, I-I… I can’t,” she said, going bright red. Esther perked up.

“Oh right, that thing. Yeah okay, er,” Esther said, and spun around to look at everyone. “Yeah uh, we’re gonna be a little bit, ‘kay? You guys go do something for a little while.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Sophitia said.

“It’s kinda for me and Infia alone. We’ll be in the King’s Shield base if you need us. We’ll call you when we’re ready to go. That means you too, Fluffy Cheeks.” Esther waved at them. She pulled Infia and Marina with her, and soon disappeared into the crowd in an impatient sprint.

“Er… shall we grab snacks?” Sophitia said with a shrug. Lute remained half-lidded, while Phoenix looked confused.

The three girls went straight to the agent base underneath the shopping arcade, but once there, Infia shrivelled up and couldn’t stop blushing. There wasn’t anyone there except them and a few operators, and they were hard at work on computers. Some had headphones on. Athens wasn’t even around, so all was quiet.

“C’mon now. You all have work to do. And I know no one wants to say it, but I doubt Lute’s patience is going to last with you girls keeping secrets like this,” Marina said. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I, um, I dunno how to say this,” Infia said. She squeaked every word.

“Forget Lute, don’t worry about him. That turd can wait as long as it takes. This is important,” Esther said. She walked behind Infia and shoved her a little. “Go ahead! Be brave. No one here is gonna judge you for asking.”

“Y-yes they are!” she squeaked even louder. Marina tilted her head. “I-I can’t. This was a bad idea. I’m sorry about this, sorry. Forget it, I wasted your time.”

“No you didn’t- urf, alright, I’ll do it,” Esther said.

“Esther no!”

“Infia wants to know if you can improve her body,” Esther said, paws on her hips. The Minun went even redder and pulled her shirt over her head. “Since you made Lute so powerful and stuff, is it possible that you can like, y’know… I really hate to put this way, but is there a way to like, ‘fix’ Infia? You don’t have to give her any crazy powers and stuff.”

“Fix her?” Marina said slowly. Esther signalled for the Minun to talk again, and she gulped. She stepped forward and lifted her skirt, revealing her nappy.

“M-m-make it s-so that I don’t have to we-wear this anymore… please,” she said.

“Oh, that’s what this is about. Okay, I totally understand the privacy, now,” Marina said. She gave Infia a quick look, and rubbed her chin. “Normally I would immediately decline. This isn’t something that could be done on a normal Pokémon. But they want me working on V-Pocket and Risen stuff, so this will be a good refresher. But please understand that I can only promise to try.”

“Why wouldn’t it work? She’s a V-Pocket just like Lute,” Esther said.

“But she was made by Spirle, not me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the technology and programming is totally different. This is very immoral too, you know that right? If Pokémon knew that it was possible to just, remove disabilities, birth defects, that sort of thing, the world would be a million times different to what it is now,” Marina said, her face straight.

“B-but this is so important. There are so many things I can’t do properly because I’m so weak and I keep having accidents all the time. I’m just lucky that I’m someone where it can be fixed. Please, if you can do it, I’ll do anything. I’m so tired of being a liability to everyone,” Infia cried.

“You’re hardly a liability, though,” Esther said.

“Like I said, I only promise to try. We’ll start with a scan. Pretty sure they have one of those tubey things here,” Marina said.

They went deeper into the lab to the stasis tube that Esther had previously destroyed, only to find it as good as new. Infia looked nervous as she approached it, but with a determined nod and a clutch of her chest, she stepped inside.

“They fixed it already. Geez, Lassic doesn’t waste any time with his toys, does he,” Esther muttered.

“They do need this. Clothes off, Infia. And try not to panic. The tube will fill with liquid, but you’ll be alright,” Marina said as she tapped a few buttons. Esther tensed up and closed her fists once the procedure got underway. She stuttered and growled as Infia was submerged, and crackled her cheeks. “Easy now, Esther. I promise you; she’ll be fine.”

“I… I know but—” she said with gritted her fangs. It looked like the Minun had fallen unconscious, and bubbles came from her mouth. “It’s really hard to look at this and not just think somebody’s drowning.”

“I can understand that, actually,” Marina said, half paying attention. She was tapping buttons without even thinking about it, or at least, that was how she looked when she worked. She seemed to know where to retrieve tools and what levers to pull, all the time tapping and sliding onto the screens like it was second nature.

“Plus… I kinda don’t agree with this. I tried to talk her out of it, I really did,” Esther said. Marina finally slowed down to look at her. “She really, really hates the fact that she has to wear nappies. It’s not even the idea of wearing them. I’ve never met anyone who hates themselves so much for something they can’t control before.”

“Yes. She tried to take her own life over this, didn’t she?” Marina said. She looked up at the Minun.

“According to Lute, yeah. She talks about him a lot. I dunno why she’s so open with me, but if you heard the way she talks about him, it’s like she’s given her whole life to him or something. Its super fucked up,” she said. “If this works out and she actually does get stronger, I really hope it doesn’t go to her head like it did for Lute. Why can’t she just be like Phoenix, and just realise that she can still live the way she really wants to?”

“Phoenix and Lute are very different cases.” Marina returned to focus. “How can I put this?”

“They’re all just V-Pockets, though. It’s got a different title, but they’re all Pokémon,” Esther said.

“Both Lute and Phoenix were brought up as ordinary Pokémon. They know how to value their lives, how to talk to others, how to relax, how to want something, you know? But Infia grew up under a Spirle High Point. All she ever knew was what she was made to do. If she can’t do those things, she’ll feel like she’s useless. This goes beyond simple computer programming – she was physically and mentally raised to know no better than that mindset.”

“But she does know how to want things. I can see it in her. She was a fan of me when I was an idol! She wouldn’t think like that and have her own feelings if it wasn’t true,” Esther said. Marina didn’t reply, and she sighed. “She’s smarter and more proactive than she makes herself out to be, too. Using Helping Hand when we first fought Evoli, and then Rain Dance when we were in that volcano… she’s a fighting genius. And she never gives herself credit for any of this.”

“You said she’s very open when she talks to you, yes?” Marina said, still not looking. Esther nodded with a hum. “Then it’s up to you to teach her. She’s obviously opened up to you enough to talk to you about things like this.”

“You don’t think I haven’t already tried, have you?” she said.

“I assume you have. But keep doing it. This isn’t something that can just be snapped away. It’s years of mental forging and bad experiences that have shaped her into who she is, and you’re the first step into trying to break that apart and change it,” Marina said.

Esther looked away and sighed. That made Marina smile, and she faced the Pikachu. “Just stay her friend, okay? Keep treating her as you would your friends, and everything will work out okay.”

“I know I know,” Esther sighed again, and folded her arms. The machine started making irritating scratching noises, to which her ears twitched and she groaned at it.

“It’s just processing the results now. I copied all her data so that I can mess around with it while you guys get on with your journey,” Marina said as she finished up. The liquid drained from the chamber and Infia was set free, but she slumped forward lifelessly into Esther’s awaiting arms. “Oh. She should wake up after a minute or two.”

“She damn well better,” Esther said.

“Hmm… Ugh. This is just like I feared,” Marina said, frowning at the screen. “Most of this code is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’m actually surprised this even functions as a V-Pocket.”

“Can you work with it, though? Like, this isn’t a totally hopeless—” Esther said.

“Oh. Oh. Ooooh. Amazing. Okay, this looks amazing,” Marina continued, slapping her paws on the sides of the computer to lean over the screen. Her eyes began to gleam, and Esther could’ve sworn they were growing bigger. “_Oh yes._ Who could’ve imagined that that formula could possibly work? Like so, it is only an amalgamation of that code. I have a hypothesis. It is almost a cheese! And this part here, this must be the move data… ohoho, Spirle, you clever little dunces!”

“Uh,” was all Esther could mutter, leaning away. Marina froze and slowly averted her gaze from the screen in a robotic fashion.

“This was a fantastic idea, and a clean insight into Spirle’s plans. I am going to tear this apart! The anatomy of the code, the ambition in the formulas, the material tying it all together… it’s remarkable! I’ve never seen anything like it. Mwahahaha, it’s like a whole new void has opened up to me!” she said.

“Yeah uh, you have fun with that. Just y’know, don’t forget to actually help Infia?” Esther said, laned back

“Oh yeah, I will,” Marina said dismissively. There was a moment of quiet, and then she realised that the Pikachu was still there, cradling the unconscious Infia in her arms. “Go on, get outta here! Can’t you see I’m deep in work now? Go sleep on the couch or something. I’ll give you guys a call on the stone when I’ve found something.”

“There’s a couch here?” Esther squeaked as she was pushed out of the room. Marina slammed the door shut the moment they were out, but could be heard laughing maniacally within. “O-kay then. Lute’s mum is a fucking weirdo. Noted!”

…

Infia woke up soon after that, so returned to their main trip: a gondola to the island where the third temple would be. The Minun was disheartened by the news, even though there was open-ended potential for her.

They dropped the topic the moment they reunited with Lute and the others. The group had restocked on the important things they needed, evident by their overstuffed travel bags and Sophitia snacking on a chocolate bar. The only question that was asked was whether or not they picked up Esther’s favourite cup noodles.

The gondola ride was mostly in silence again, everyone occupying themselves until their destination had come into view. The moment it did, Naivie got everyone’s attention. “There it is. And it looks as good as ever.”

“You said it was called Obire, right?” Lute said as he went to the window. His mouth hung agape, and an old feeling awoke in the back of his mind.

The island looked like one of those generic scenic paintings of holiday spots you could buy in a market. The difference was that this was reality, and so every last detail was unlike anything he had ever seen. The land was tropical, wild, and bursting with nature, even from this distance. The station was near a beach, which led into a jungle lined with plant life so foreign it looked alien. Beyond that, mountains peaked through the central region of the island, all at different heights that went beyond the clouds above. Everything about it screamed adventure.

“This place... is there even a town or a village here or anything? It almost looks like an uninhabited island,” Sophitia said.

“This is so cool! I’ve never seen anything like this,” Esther said.

“It is probably the last place in Aseria to have not been taken over by the advancing technology. I do not know much about the island, but it is considered to be out of the agent’s jurisdiction, so any criminals that escape there, we let go,” Phoenix said.

“Whaaaaat? You knew about this place and never told me? Fluffy Cheeks!” Esther put her paws on her hips.

“This is my first time here. I know not what to expect,” he said, half-lidded.

“If it’s untouched by your tall foxy friend, then that means the village should still be there. And that the Pokémon living there will be ancients,” Naivie said. She fluttered around everyone in glee. “The temple is somewhere in the mountains there. Looks like you guys’ll have to climb a mystery dungeon to get there.”

“Kinda a good thing we stocked up then, huh. I guess we’re even luckier that a gondola goes here,” Sophitia said.

The gondola station was no greater than a single square room situated on one end of the beach, with only one rail for carriages to come and go. Lute was the first to jog away the moment he set foot on it. The sea wasn’t stagnant, but the waves washing up weren’t strong. He twisted and sniffed his own footprints, surprised to have gotten his own scent from it. Then he let the water wash over his legs a few times, and shivered from how cold it was. But it was a pleasant cold, the cool cold that was perfect for hot weather.

“Lute, don’t run off like that. The heck are you even doing?” Esther called.

“I just told you the temple is up there in the mountains, and you start frolicking in the sand like a hyper little infant. Good job, kid,” Naivie said.

“I was curious. I’ve never been to a beach before,” he said. Everyone froze.

“Su-seriously?” Infia said.

“Places like that were always too far away for Mum to ever take me. I-I just wanted to try stuff out.” He looked away.

“Holy shit, way to remind me that you’re a sheltered little bumpkin. If you hadn’t been a big dick earlier, maybe I’d call for you to have a little fun here,” Esther said. She folded her arms and turned away.

“Oh. No, you’re right,” he said. He shook himself off and looked up at everyone, immediately awkward thanks to Sophitia’s gleaming smile. “Sorry about that. We should focus. The rule of mystery dungeons is- okay, what’s up with you? Stop looking at me like that.”

”It’s just, you’re excited,” Sophitia said in a sing-song tone. “I didn’t know you hadn’t been to the beach before. We should look around.”

“We should focus on the quest. Forget about what my feeble little outburst wants,” he said, unable to hide a blush. “If we keep walking towards the direction of the mountain, then even if the mystery dungeon diverts our path, we should make it to our destination. That’s the rule of mystery dungeons. Let’s go.”

“Uh uh, hold on a second,” Naivie said. “Normally that would be true, but that only really works because of your V-Wave stuff stabilising all the ley lines and preventing the landscape from moving. But this island is untouched. To get through the mystery dungeon, you’re probably going to need the help of those ancients.”

“Oh, right. That’s also true. So like it or not, Obire Village is our best first stop,” he said.

“I mean, that’s still just as exciting, huh?” Sophitia brushed past him with a feeler. “We still get to look around. We get the full package.”

“We’re not here for fun, Sophitia.” He rolled his eyes.

“Listen to yourself, Lute. I never thought you’d be the one to say no fun allowed,” she said with a giggle. He growled and shivered to stop himself from retaliating. They set off after that, but he still felt that tone sting.

The transition of the soft sands to the loamy, dusty soils of the forest was almost magical to him. To go from such a vast open space to this dark, enclosed corridor of trees and foliage, it pushed his curiosity to insanity. Even though the weather had stopped the wind and left no sunshine, he wanted to imagine this area with the heated light beaming through the leaves overhead, or know how it felt to run on the beach with a tailwind behind him.

Even without that, everything about this area was attractively fantastic. Fruits, berries, and mushrooms of all sorts grew all over the place, many just waiting to be picked. Feral Pokémon could be heard all around them doing what they were said to do in fairy tales: Kricketot chirped, Weedle snacked on leaves, Taillow eyed them and their prey cautiously. It was truly the epitome of nature in its purest form, and he wanted to bask in every last second of it.

“I know for sure where I’m taking my next vacation,” Esther said. She tucked her paws behind her back. “This place is super inspiring.”

“Watch out!” Infia cried, shoving her forward. The stingers of a Fury Attack hit the spot where she just was, making everybody flinch. “The bugs and the birds were watching us.”

“That means—” Esther said. She looked at where the attack came from, and wound up rolling away as a Beedrill came charging at her, stingers front and ready. It got lodged into the soil below, stuck in place. Phoenix was first to act, flaring up for a Flamethrower.

“Wait, don’t shoot! Do you wanna set the whole forest on fire?” Naivie screeched. He retracted with a cough that made embers puff from his mouth instead. In that time, the Beedrill pulled itself free and glared at the group with its stingers bared.

“Heh, wouldn’t be a mystery dungeon without the feral Pokémon defending their homes,” Sophitia said as everyone readied themselves for battle. At that moment, a flock of flying types soared down towards her, but the group were brought down by Esther’s Thunderbolt.

“Easy-peasy. For somewhere dangerous, they really don’t put up much of a fight,” she said. She dusted her paws.

“Lute, behind you,” Infia cried, making him jump. All he was doing was strafing the Beedrill that awaited its chance to attack, but he stepped on something unexpectedly soft. He flinched around, not realising that it was a camouflaged Amoonguss rising up out of the ground. It grew above him, and its cheeks were puffed up.

“Watch out, it uses spores!” Phoenix shouted, but it was too late. Lute cross his paws over his front to defend himself, but that was helpless against the cloud of colourful dust the mushroom Pokémon shook to shower him with.

“Lute!” Sophitia cried. The Beedrill tried to attack at that point, but she made easy work of it by whacking it away with the flat side of her sword. She rushed over to him, but the smell of the spores irritated her. “Argh… n-no!”

Everyone waited in angst, surprised when the dusty cloud faded and Lute was revealed to have a clear barrier around him. He didn’t seem to know it was there either, and looked up with a dumbfounded gasp.

“Safeguard? Infia you genius, you did it again,” Esther said, noticing she was glowing as well. “Now’s your chance, trash that thing!”

“R-right,” Lute staggered. He jumped up high to use Swift, and threw as many stars as he could to hit the cowering Amoonguss, but each hit seemed to blow up harmlessly against the thing. It used its padded arms to block the hits, dumbfounded by its lack of pain. “_Seriously? Nothing? I’m still this weak?_”

Before he could fret about those thoughts, Sophitia picked him up by his mane and made a break for it. “We need to keep moving. That’s how these dungeons work, the feral are gonna keep attacking.”

“You’ve got that right,” Esther said as she threw an Electro Ball to her side during her sprint. It hit a tree, but it shrouded a swarm of Spearow in smoke.

Lute was put down after that, but he didn’t argue. They were running through the forest as quickly as its bustling paths would allow them to, Lute changing pace to ensure he didn’t trip on any of the giant roots or logs of wood littered here and there. It felt shameful to have to charge through here so hastily, but with all the feral Pokémon around them, they had to.

He looked up as he ran, seeing a constant watch of birds or dangerous bug Pokémon. Some attacked right away and made everyone jump or clash an attack, while others snarled and growled to keep them away. This carried on for a good while, only giving the group a breather when the trees began to thin out and be more spaced apart. The group had to stop to catch their breath there.

“Geez. Okay, that was close,” Esther huffed. “C’mon Lute, watch where you’re going! How’d you step on an Amoonguss of all things? It’s only a couple inches taller than you.”

“My eyes were on the Beedrill! Like everyone else’s,” he said.

“You’re supposed to be better than this! If Infia wasn’t so good, we’d have gotten spored,” she said.

“I barely did anything, though,” Infia muttered.

“How can I be better than—” he said, but cut himself off He frowned and went half lidded. “Are you really going to do this? Are you going to look for a reason to fight with me at every opportunity? Because that’ll make you even more insufferable.”

“Wha-what?” she said.

“Whoa there, okay, easy now. There’s no need for this,” Sophitia said.

“He called me insufferable. After everything I’ve done for him!” she cried.

“You haven’t done anything for me except pull me into things I don’t want to be part of. We’ve had this conversation already,” he said. “Grow up and get a grip.”

“Grow up? How dare you, I’m older than you you little shit!” she said.

“Then act like it. We don’t have time to be bickering like little children. I don’t care if you hate me, we have work to do. So suck it up, and let’s do what we have to do. The sooner we finish, the sooner you don’t have to put up with me,” he said.

Esther shivered, and the others mouths dropped. “A-as if I can work with someone I don’t like.”

“That’s enough you two!” Sophitia shouted as she stood between them. “I dunno what’s gone down between you two, but cut it out. _No one’s_ gonna get anything done if you keep snapping at each other like that.”

“Tell him, not me!” Esther said.

“You’re the one who snapped first actually, but whatever, forget it. Where are we?” Sophitia said.

“The village,” Phoenix said.

“What village?” Sophitia said. There was still quite a bit of woodland and shrubbery in front of them, but there was enough space for the area to be lit. She strolled forward and spread the bushes apart, and then gawked at the clear space of the village that lay beyond it. She pulled back to bring everyone over. “How did you spot that?”

“Enhanced eyes,” he said as he walked past. Infia stopped Esther while everyone else went ahead.

“Please don’t fight Lute like that,” she said.

“Grr, look I know you like him and stuff, but if he’s a dick, he’s gonna get treated like a dick. That’s who I am. I’m not gonna change that ‘cos of you,” Esther said. Infia moaned, holding down her skirt.

“He’s just hurting, though. He doesn’t mean any of it, I know it.”

“I’ll believe that when he apologises.” She folded her arms.

“Esther, Infia, c’mon!” Sophitia called.

Obire Village was every bit the ancient locale they expected it to be, and more. Comfy rock floor, wooden log houses painted a creative variety of colours, and not a single modern-day material in sight. It was quiet, but a few Pokémon chatted as they went about their business. More tropical forest surrounded the village on all sides, but there were a few stone streetlamps put up to mark a path. But the best thing was the open cooking giving the area a delicious smell.

“It’s just like the ones I’ve read about. They even have a Kecleon Shop and Kangaskhan Storage,” Lute said. He wanted to wander around and get lost in this homely place, which he felt relaxed in even though it was surrounded by forest he had just been attacked in. This wasn’t like Everend, it was a newfound cosiness that awakened natural instincts in him. If he ever got to move out and live on his own, this would be his number one choice for sure, or first pick for a holiday destination.

“Oh there you are, about time you guys showed up!” a familiar voice got their attention. Kuri had just exited one of the buildings, the biggest one to be exact, and was followed by an old Azumarill.

“Oh great. It’s you.” Sophitia rolled her eyes.

“Aww, don’t be like that. I could’ve spent more of my holiday with the wife, but I decided to give you guys the time instead,” the Chespin said as he walked over. “After all, what’s a hero if he’s not a team player?”

Lute glared at him coldly. “Why are you here?”

“Oh wow. What am I like, not welcome all of a sudden?” He shrugged

“It’s not that, it’s just… okay, sure. So what, are you gonna work with us for good this time?” Sophitia said.

“Well yeah. I waited here all this time for you kids. Don’t tell me my entry ticket has expired,” he said. “The head of Obire here let me stay once I explained the situation, but I didn’t expect you to take so long. Did I miss something?”

Sophitia’s eyes diverted to Lute for an instant, but focused on Kuri. “We just ran into a bit of trouble. Things changed a little bit, but we’re back on track. We shouldn’t get held back by King’s Shield, either.”

“Oh yeah?” he said. He folded his arms and his face went straight. “What about all that stuff with Lute?”

“_How does he know about—_” Sophitia thought, her eyes widening. “Oh wait, Phoenix told you everything, didn’t he?”

“Good. No more keeping secrets from each other,” he said cheerfully.

“Y’know, you kinda gotta stop doing that,” Esther said.

“Does he not he deserve to be in the know?” Phoenix replied.

Okay, so how much do you know? Not that it matters much,” Sophitia said.

“Everything. The V Pocket stuff, the way he functions, even the fact that he beat Spirle’s big monster by tearing it a new hole. So before I join your team, I want to see something important,” he said. Lute remained devoid of emotion even when Kuri stood right in front of him. “Battle me.”

“Waste of time,” Lute replied.

“Could be a fun waste of time. Give it a go,” Kuri said, a hand on his hip.

“We didn’t come here to entertain you. This is a waste of time,” Lute said.

Kuri shrugged. “So what, you think you’re all invincible, now? That if we fight, maybe you’ll get your ass handed to you? What happened to your want to get stronger?”

“With my powers, I can be as strong as I need to be to finish this quest. I don’t need to ‘get stronger’,” Lute said. He was clearly aggravated.

“Oh wow. See I like the confidence, but are you actually sure about that?” Kuri said as he walked a few paces away. “Have you actually beaten anyone since discovering those powers?”

Lute didn’t reply, and gulped. The recent memory of his Swift failing to damage the Amoonguss replayed in his mind, and he shook his head. “Don’t try to reverse psychology this. I don’t want to fight you!”

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, even I’m confused about what you’re up to. This kid can get pretty savage, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to wind him up,” Naivie said, finally appearing.

“In Phoenix’s exact words, he knocked down Spirle’s Golisopod after getting the power boost. That doesn’t sound like defeat to me.” Kuri folded his arms. “I just want to make sure you’re really up to code on this. If you think you can defeat everyone you need to be able to beat like the hero you wanna be, then you’ve got zero reason to say no.”

“It’s a waste of time, Kuri!” Lute growled.

“At least show me. Humour me! Show me what you’re made of.” Kuri smiled cockily.

“Do you _have_ to be so provocative? Seriously, how are you a hero? You really just sound like a villain right now,” Sophitia said.

“Then pretend I am. I’m a villain that’s challenging you to an honourable duel. Lose to me, and innocent lives will suffer for it,” Kuri said aloud. His words had gotten the concern of the villagers, who had already been eying the confrontation. Now there were mutters, clearly wary about what was going on. Lute glanced at them and sighed.

“I don’t know what Phoenix told you, but I react to damage and get stronger through it. You can’t defeat me, and I might end up knocking you out. That’ll only slow us down,” Lute said.

“Again, you’re so damn certain that you’re unstoppable that you’re really not even going to try? I want to see this for myself you coward. Show me this power that makes you so confident and invincible!” Kuri raised his voice. Lute groaned angrily.

“Fine. You had your warnings. If you really won’t take no for an answer, then bring it,” he said, gritting his teeth. Kuri smiled and unfurled his arms.

“Wait for real? C’mon, we don’t have time for this,” Naivie cried.

“Tell that to him, not me,” Lute said.

“Naivie let it happen. A little punch to the guts ought to knock some sense into him,” Esther said, giggling.

“That is not why I told him to do this,” Phoenix said quietly. He pulled the others back with him.

“Wait what?” Sophitia said, going quiet as well. “You told him to fight? Kuri?”

“Just watch,” he said.

Lute had his eyes on his friends and took note of them going quieter as they made space for the battle. The Azumarill seemed to be cooperative as well, stood at the front of the crowd as they did the same. He groaned a little, realising that it must have been a setup of some form, but played along anyway. After he failed to damage that Amoonguss, he needed to prove himself.

“Well then, let’s begin. Come at me, show me your best move,” Kuri said, and opened his arms out.

Lute knew it was a taunt. It actually hurt inside just to see the Chespin look so jolly and silly despite the serious tone earlier. But if he used any of his attacks now, he would only make the Chespin overconfident. In order to show off what he could really do, he needed Kuri to hit him first.

“You know how my powers function. So you’re not going to get anything interesting unless you go first,” he said. He remained tense with his feet spread, eyes on the Chespin who slumped forward in disappointment.

“Oh gods, it works that badly? That’s lousy. How can you expect to win a fight if you have to get beaten to a pulp, first? Sounds like some really bad shounen manga hero,” Kuri said. Lute became even tenser. “Seriously though, that’s a lousy power, especially if you can’t control it yourself. What happens if you get knocked out right away? Or your bones break?”

“That can’t happen. I won’t get defeated, no matter what,” Lute replied. Kuri was quiet for a moment.

“Let me show you that that absolutely can happen. At the same time, I’ll give you an example of the power a real hero is supposed to have,” Kuri said.

The Chespin shut his eyes and took a deep breath, and then curled his hands into fists. He thrust them down, tensed up, and let out a low roar as if powering up for an excessive attack. It took a few moments before any sort of effect started to show, but surely enough, he was powering up. The leaves on his head fluttered in an invisible aura, and dust started to blow away from him. Not long later, Sophitia and the others started to get unsettled, and shifted back.

“O-o-okay, hold up. I wanted Lute to get punched, but not like, super hard. Is that Kuri?” Esther gasped.

Sophitia didn’t reply right away, and stared at the Chespin in disbelief. “Is that really Kuri? What’s going on?”

“Is he getting super strong? M-me and Lute can’t feel energy like you guys. What is he doing?” Infia said, worried.

“His power’s rising alright. But this is unreal, and it’s still going up,” Sophitia said. “U-uh, hey Kuri, that’s enough! We get the point.”

But the Chespin ignored her, continuing to increase in volume. With a shout at the top of his voice, he released himself from his straining pose, and a gush of wind brushed away from him. The green on his body glowed brightly, and somehow, his face became a little darker and bolder, too.

“You look surprised,” Kuri said after a while, his voice unexpectedly calm. Lute closed his mouth and gulped. “You can’t feel it though, can you? The power of a hero.”

“What did you do? Is that Solar Beam?” Lute asked, trying to sound unfazed. In reality, he could hear the surprise in the other Pokémon, and a dark possibility was in his mind.

“I’ve spent a lot of time researching moves, powers, and abilities, training with my friends and Pokémon that mean a lot to me. Thanks to everyone, I achieved this form a long time ago, and I’ve used it to become the wanted mercenary that’s eluded King’s Shield for all this time,” he said, still stoic and calm. “I’ll spare you the complexities. Species like mine can use abilities like Overgrow to power up their grass type moves, but only when their back is against the wall, similar to the power that you’re using.”

“So like Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent?” Lute said. He gasped. “N-no way. Did you learn how to bring that power out without taking any damage?”

“Not just bringing out that power, but fully controlling it, using it to enhance the entirety of my body and not just my grass type moves. In this state, I am even stronger than a Chesnaught utilising Overgrow!” he said. He entered a fighting pose. “Still think you can take a hit from this and take me down? This is your last chance.”

Lute gritted his fangs and stretched his feet apart to brace for the worst. He shuddered, but then thought about it. Such a high power hit would guarantee his win, here. After all, that Golisopod had stabbed him right through to trigger his Adaptability. The worst Kuri could do was Frenzy Plant, which he was sure to survive.

“Go ahead and do your worst. Like I said, it won’t work on me!” Lute shouted.

Kuri frowned at that. It wasn’t like his prior frowns where he had been acting, but more as though he was genuinely disappointed and furious about something. Still, that was his call to attack, and he took it. But the instant he shifted stance to sprint, he vanished from Lute’s sight.

The Eevee didn’t even get a chance to react in shock. Just frames of time later, a Needle Arm had smashed its way into his chest so hard that the shape of Kuri’s fist was shaped out of Lute’s back, and the Eevee was suspended in the air.

This wasn’t like taking any of the attacks he had taken up until now – it did more than wind him. It literally stole his consciousness from him. It delivered an overwhelming amount of sensations unto him in an instant. He couldn’t breathe, he was in so much pain he had been silenced, and he had gone numb all over. He couldn’t close his mouth, felt like he might throw up his organs, and couldn’t do anything other than shiver in place while time caught up to him.

“Lute!” Sophitia and the others cried. That was the last thing he heard before he collapsed, eyes wide open. Kuri stood in front of him for a moment, wary that his ability might work and he’d stand up again. But he was motionless.

“Good. Not even King Shield’s ultimate weapon can stand up to me,” Kuri said, looking into his fist.

“What the heck was that? You didn’t kill him, did you?” Sophitia gasped as she rushed to his aid. “Lute! Lute, wake up! Lute!”

“You don’t need to panic. I held back,” Kuri said quietly. He swiped his arm aside to dismiss his power. “Won’t lie though, I expected way better.”

“Why though? For the love of the gods, just tell me why you do the weird shit that you do,” she cried, holding the Eevee up.

“To get his head in the right place, teach him a lesson. Isn’t it obvious? I did the same to Phoenix back when I first rescued him, you know.”

“He’s hurt!” she cried.

“He’s knocked out. Defeated. At a time when he thought he couldn’t be beaten. Hopefully he won’t have such a big head when he wakes up, and will learn to watch his mouth, too.” Kuri turned his back.

“Now now, you’re sounding just like him, your highness,” the Azumarill addressed the whole group. Her voice was strong but fragile, a reflection of the few wrinkles on her face and hands. She held a peculiar walking stick, a pink rod with a yellow star on the end. “You were victorious, exactly as we predicted.”

“So this was a setup. But damn, did you have to literally kill him?” Esther said.

“The harshest lessons are learnt without restraint, after all,” Phoenix said.

“You all are the heroes of Aseria, correct? The ones growing the Ancient Flowers,” Azumarill said. “Please come with me. You must all be tired. We can talk over tea.”

“Not like we have a choice now. Geez, another time-waster!” Naivie said.

“We were going to stop here to get help with the mystery dungeon, anyway,” Sophitia said. “Pardon me for asking, but you are?”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Azu. I am an elder of sorts for the village, even though I’m not that old.”


	25. Temple of the West

A cosy warmth cradled Lute all over, leading to one of the most relaxed sleeps he’d ever had. Not that he had slept at all in a while. It was the perfect level of heat and softness that urged him to keep his eyes shut, body relaxed and dreams vivid. He frolicked in a world of cake next to a river of ice cream, and stopped when he spotted a giant strawberry.

Just the sight of the fruit made his mouth water, but it was atop a towering swirl of whipped cream, to which he licked his lips. The cream was just about stable enough for him to jump and climb up it. He hugged the strawberry, licked it, and then took a hearty chomp before happily nibbling away at it.

That was until he realised how gross it tasted. It was soft but not chewy, and tasted pungent and rough like dirty fur.

His eyes shot open. He had one of Sophitia’s forepaws in his mouth, and the way it was covered in saliva, it looked like he’d nibbled at it for a while. He didn’t move and slowly directed his gaze upward. This had to be a dream, and the cake world was reality. He wanted things to be that way around.

But it wasn’t. It was worse. The shiny Sylveon was curled around him and silently snoring away, but the way she slept, they were cuddled up to each other like lovers, right down to his own paws laying on her chest. All that soft warmth he felt relaxed in was hers, right down to the pudge of her belly where he rested his hind legs.

He almost flew off the sewn mattress they were shared with a hard, hiss of a shriek. She shot awake at that, darting her gaze all over in expectance of an emergency. He was frozen, unable to look away from her face at all, or stop the heat from filling his own.

“Oh, Lute. Sorry about that, something scared me. Good morning,” she sighed. She took notice of her wet paw and wiped it clean, unbothered. He uttered a reply, and must’ve looked so dumb that even she was confused about it. “Er, are you okay? Your face is all red. You don’t have a fever, do you?”

“Y-y-you! What is wrong with me? No, what’s wrong with you?” he gasped. She tilted her head. “Y-you slept. In the same bed. Again. And the hugging and the- yeah, why?”

“We hugged? Wait I’m so confused. There’s only one bed in this room, so why wouldn’t we—”

“Because that’s what couples do! And we’re not—” he cried, but then came to a stop. Now that he was awake and aware, all sorts of necessities were made themselves apparent. Right now, he was so hungry that his innards felt like they were turning inside-out. “F-f-food. A-a-anything. Oh gods, anything, just food, please.”

“Lute,” Sophitia cried, unable to stop him from running off into the other room.

He couldn’t stop himself, either. There was a bowl of apples and oran berries on the table in the middle, and the sight was all it took for him to dive for it. He didn’t think twice, he just stuffed the apple into his mouth and demolished it right down to the core and seeds. He grabbed the next one and a berry with both paws and stuffed them into his mouth with even more eagerness.

“Careful, you’ll choke!” she warned as he did just that. It barely deterred him, though. He kept eating until he had to swallow a huge gulp, where he was finally able to take a breather.

“Oh gods, that feels so much better. Wa-water, too. Is there water?” He turned to her with a desperate look. She pointed to a bucket in another room, and he was off. He dumped his whole face in the bucket and gulped away without even looking at what was inside. She was her speechless.

He soon fell back with a gasp, and calmed down. “Man, that feels kinda better,” he said, and then had few more gulps.

“W-wow. Are you okay?” She walked over.

He had to take a moment to catch his breath and regain some kind of control, to which his stomach rumbled and he looked up at her with a desperate frown. “I-I don’t know. All I can think about is food right now. I-I’m so dang hungry.”

She watched him divert back to the fruit bowl. He chomp down and devoured every last thing there like a wild beast, even though some of it looked like it had been there a while and had started to brown. She still had concern on her face, but the way he ate only made her feel hungry, too.

“So much for not wanting to eat or sleep anymore. But I guess that’s what you get for not eating for two weeks.” She rubbed her her face.

“You’re right!” he gasped and stopped at the last bite. He only stopped for a second though, and then swallowed the remainder whole. “How? Why am I so hungry and I- I slept! Kuri knocked me out, and then… gods, I’m still hungry.”

“You know what I think?” she said. She giggled at his crazed look. “When you stopped nourishing yourself, your body started using its remaining V-Waves to just like, keep you alive in general. But after fighting Rhodeas, you were so outta strength that you couldn’t fight at all. And now you like, need to replenish!”

“Did Marina say that?” he gasped.

“No, that’s just a theory,” she said. She giggled again, and put a feeler by her mouth to stop herself. He had a gawking frown, and turned away to blush. “It’s fairly obvious though, isn’t it? All living things need food and water to survive. And if they don’t, there’s always some substitute. You shouldn’t be an exception.”

“But that’s so ridiculous! What’s the point in having all these powers and stuff if I still need to eat? That’s… that makes me useless.” He hung his head.

“That’s not useless.” She turned serious.

“I was made a V-Pocket with all these cool strengths and abilities. If I can’t use them when I want to, then I can’t do what I was made to do. I’m just a useless liability,” he said.

The words made the Sylveon stiffen, but she didn’t take her eyes off his frustrated stance. Her chest was heavy, but she fought the feelings and approached to slowly wrap her feelers around him. He didn’t seem concerned until she brought him close and cradled him like a baby, with their cheeks within touching distance.

“Wha-what are you doing? Sophitia, what’s gotten into you?” he gasped and began to sweat.

“Nothing.” She nuzzled him a bit. He made nervous sounds and went stiff as he tried to look away and scrunch himself up. That only made her giggle again, and he gulped, a wriggly smile on his face as he dared to look up. “Let’s kiss.”

“What?” he almost screamed. “O-okay no, that’s weird. Something’s _totally_ gotten into you.”

“What’s the matter? You scared? Or shy?” she said.

“N-no- I-I mean yes- I mean- gah, what and why are we doing this?” he cried.

“You don’t seem to be too bothered for someone who said no.” She put a feeler by her mouth.

“That’s because- I-we—” he uttered, and then clammed up. He couldn’t stop blushing.

“I thought you thought love stuff was gross?” she said.

He kept quiet, but that did make him grit his teeth. She put him down after that, and turned away with a sneaky smile. “You want to, don’t you? But you’re nervous.”

“N-no… it is gross. And it’s super weird right now. I dunno why you’d wanna kiss anybody, let alone me.” He pretended to spit.

She turned back to him and pointed a feeler. “You see what happened right there? Your reaction. Everything.”

“Huh?” He tilted his head.

“You got nervous. You got hungry and thirsty. And if you’re not lying, confused, too,” she said. “All of those things are things that every living thing can get, too.”

“They’re not real for me, though. I’m a V-Pocket, all of it’s just programming,” he said.

“Then why and how could you have any kind of feelings for me at all?” she said.

“I don’t have feelings for you! I’m just confused,” he cried.

“There it is again. You’re blushing more than a tomato, too.” She looked away.

She didn’t look nearly as embarrassed as he felt, which was even more confusing. He was sure this conversation was going to go in the direction of his V-Pocket traits, yet all the thoughts swelling in his head were about the kiss proposal. He didn’t even know how to kiss, so where could such thoughts have come from? All it did was make his mind wander to her appearance, and whether or not he wanted to do such a thing with her. Yes or no, the one thing he knew for certain was that he definitely found her attractive, even now with her bed hair and unwashed fur coat.

He shook his head and cried out, then hid under his paws. He couldn’t believe what he had just thought, and at such a time as serious as this. They had work to do, yet all he could think about was that he was _this_ close being able to do affectionate things with such a beautiful Sylveon. This wasn’t the first time he’d felt this way about her, too.

“You’re starting to get it now, aren’t you?” She smiled. He managed to look up at her, and was happy to see it was a sincere smile. “You’re alive. You feel things. You feel emotions just like any other person. Like me, like Esther, like Infia and Phoenix. Even like Naivie.”

“But it doesn’t make sense. I was just made to be like this, programmed to look like I’m alive. There’s no way it’s this advanced, or… unless Marina’s that good. It has to be.” He rubbed his chin.

Sophitia shook her head and laid a feeler on his head. “How you were born doesn’t make a difference at all. It’s what you’re doing with your life that determines who you really are.”

“How I was born…” He looked down and away.

“Infia should be the same as you. Yet still, she wanted to go on that date with you. And she became a fan of Esther, too. Phoenix made friends with Esther and Kuri, too. None of that was because of programming or whatever the person who made them. They’re who they are, and you’re who you are. All of your feelings are real. You’re all living!” Sophitia said. “So please stop saying and doing things like that, okay? You’ve said some pretty mean things to everyone, and when you go on like you’re useless or your feelings don’t matter, it really hurts us. Your friends.”

“My… friends…” he muttered.

“Don’t you enjoy living, too? I know you enjoy living. Being on this journey and being able to see the world, being part of King’s Shield and helping people in need, becoming the hero you always said you wanted to be. All of that was you,” she said. She began to pace around the room, and her voice became soft as he followed her. “I’m not saying we should ignore all those other things. We can work it all out together, but only if you let us, you know? Because if today’s anything to go by, it’s fairly obvious that things don’t work the way we thought they do.”

“Okay okay I get it.” He turned away. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, though.”

“We’ll do what we’ve _been_ doing. What you want to do. Restoring the seasons and saving Aseria,” she said, and raised a feeler. He gawked at her again.

“… No. That wasn’t really what I was doing. That’s why I feel this way,” he said. His soft tone surprised her. “It was you. I mean yeah, I wanted to be a hero, but all of this only happened because I met you. And from since then, I really wanted to help you get your memory back. Now that I think about it, I haven’t really done anything about that for a while, besides those weird scenes we keep seeing in the temples.”

“Me?” she said. She shivered slightly and started laughing awkwardly. “All that stuff’s just super weird mystery stuff. You’ve got a lotta problems going on yourself, y’know? Worry about those before me.”

“But if it wasn’t for you, I’d have never changed. Because of you, I got stronger, I got to go on this journey, and despite all the bad stuff that’s happened, I…” He trailed off and looked down. He paced, then stopped to look up at her with a look of surprise. “Wow, now that I think about it, I’ve been through a lot, and I’ve been really selfish with a lot of it.”

“You haven’t! Not at all. Look this has nothing to do with me, ‘kay?” She shook her paws.

“But it does. I became a King’s Shield agent because of you, I decided to explore Moand Dia because of you, too. I knew you were really special from the moment I saw you. And then even though you’ve got all of this mystery going on, here you are, sticking up for me even when I’ve been the most unfriendly I could ever be.” He shut his eyes. He slowly opened then, looking straight at her and smiled. “That’s why I feel the way I do about you. You’re… you’re a really special friend, you know that?”

“Well I am pretty cool and all, and I better be. I’m your leader, after all,” she said, rubbing below her nose.

“Yeah. That’s why I like you, you know. So I guess I do wanna kiss.” He smiled. It took her a moment to realise what he’d just said, and her face went deep red.

“Wa-wa-wait a minute, what?” she screamed. “I-I-I didn’t mean that, I was just trying to prove a point and stuff I didn’t really—”

“Hahaha, gotcha. You’re really confused now too, huh?” he snickered. She was the one who couldn’t stop blushing, now. “But I do mean it that you’re a special friend who I want to stick with, though. I spent all this time thinking about myself, even though I was really doing it all to help you get back your memories. So that’s what I’m going to do, now. From here on, it’s all about you, Sophitia.”

“Aww, don’t do that either,” she whined and swayed her head. “If I cared about who I used to be, I’d never be able to move forward and do stuff with my life. And don’t say stuff like you liking me and wanna kiss, okay? When a boy says it, it’s not supposed to be joked about!”

“Huh? That’s not fair,” he said. She slapped her face with a feeler.

“No no, that didn’t come out right either. Look, if you’re saying or doing affectionate things, you don’t just suddenly stop and say the whole thing’s a joke when the other person gets weirded out.”

“But that’s exactly what you did. You even slept with me and cuddled me and everything!” he cried.

Her face went red again. “You tried to kill yourself! Is it so wrong that I really didn’t wanna let my friend out of my sight since then? Like, I’ve genuinely been super worried about you and the way you’re hurting, you know!”

“You did it before when we had to sleep at Gen’s, too,” he said.

“Yeah, again because you were hurting! And sometimes words just aren’t enough. Well they are, but I don’t know enough words.” She puffed out her cheeks. He didn’t reply, and slowly stepped closer. “What? Don’t look at me like that! Stupid kid.”

He still didn’t say anything. He kept stared up at her until she dared to look back, her cheeks still red. It all made him gradually begin to laugh, all until his stomach growled above his volume. He couldn’t help but shrivel up and rub it, and now he was the one blushing while Sophitia was smiled cheekily.

“Serves you right. You’re a real glutton right now, aren’t ya?” she said. Her own stomach broke the silence, but that only made her laugh.

“Am I?” He smiled.

“To be fair, it’s like lunch and I didn’t have dinner yesterday. You were sleeping like a log,” she said cheerfully. “So uh, find the others and get some grub? We should probably get a move on.”

“Best plan you’ve ever had,” he said. The duo nodded and made their way toward the door.

“The others should be close by. The village isn’t very big, and it is lunch, I think,” she said.

“Aww what? No, it wasn’t supposed to stop there,” Esther whined as she pushed through the door to the house. The two Eeveelutions flinched as the others filled the house, Kuri and the Azumarill from yesterday included. “How the hell _didn’t_ you kiss? And start getting all saucy and stuff. And Lute, you weren’t even being dense and stuff. Like, how, just how?”

“Esther,” Infia sighed.

“Esther, everyone,” Sophitia gasped. “Wa-wait a minute. How long were you watching?”

“I dunno. It was Esther’s idea, though. Once she saw you babying him, she made pretty sure to get us to hide,” Kuri said, arms folded and eyes closed. Sophitia started growling.

“In her exact words, she really wanted to see you ‘rock his world’,” Phoenix said.

“Shh, guys, way to rat me out!” Esther hissed.

“Rock… my world? Wha?” Lute tilted his head. Sophitia blushed again and her growls intensified. She suddenly snapped back to being calm, though she locked right onto Esther.

“Excuse me, everyone. Before we eat, me and Esther have a little business to attend to,” she said.

“Eeep. We do? No we don’t, I didn’t—” Esther said.

“Of course we do. Follow me now, if you will,” Sophitia said as she drew her sword and shield, while her spare two feelers directed the scrambling Pikachu out the house. Lute watched them leave with an eyebrow raised, and flinched when Esther’s wild squeals came from beyond the door.

…

Lute had to wait a little while for food to be prepared, but once it was ready, him and the group were treated banquet beyond their imagination. Apple pies, vegetable stir fry, strawberry cakes, bowls of curry, and all other sorts of elaborate dishes were laid out on giant table in the centre of the village. It seemed like everyone who lived there had come out to eat together, and not one of them seemed to mind how much of a glutton he wanted to be.

He stuffed himself royally, all the while surrounded by some of the happiest Pokémon he’d seen in months. It was almost like he was back at school and they were all having some big celebration, only there wasn’t anything to celebrate and he didn’t know who anyone was. Still, it put a great big smile on his face, and from the looks of the others, it lifted their spirits, too.

“Azu,” Lute said, lying on his back in his seat. The Azumarill had finally walked past him and the group, and she giggled at his bloated and lethargic look. “Why did you all do this? Do you always eat like this?”

“Not at all. But this was the best we could do, given the circumstances,” she said. She put both hands on her staff.

“Wow Lute, is that stack of plates yours? You weren’t kidding about how hungry you were,” Sophitia said with a giggle. He a groaned a bit and slumped in his seat.

“All the food was good. I didn’t know when to stop,” he said. “But what’s the occasion? Why go to all this trouble?”

“Because his highness is with us, and departing for the temple to restore the seasons, no less,” Azu said.

“His… highness? There’s royalty here?” Lute gasped and flipped over to appear proper.

“Wait, going to restore the seasons is our job. Esther and the others were supposed to ask you for help on that,” Sophitia said.

“I know. You require assistance on reaching the temple, of course. Making sure your group is well fed and up to code is only the most basic of hospitality we need to offer,” Azu said.

“Look, enough of the old grandma act. The only thing we _need_ is getting to the temple. So go gather everyone and let’s go!” Naivie popped up between then. “You kids are wasting time again.”

“I implore you to have a little patience,” Azu said with a groan. “This old body may have once leapt over the oceans, but now I can hardly manage a trip to beach without requiring a rest.”

“Then get somebody who can!” Naivie shouted.

“Naivie please, I can hear you from all the way over there.” Esther came over. Phoenix and the others were behind her, but Lute was immediately drawn to a jewelled anklet around Infia’s leg. It looked pricey, but it shone.

In fact, her whole costume was different. The Minun had stuck to her pink preferences, but her costume was a lot more dancer-like and similar to Esther’s. Her shirt was looser and had various tones and patterns on it, while her skirt was a little shorter, frillier, and shinier, too.

“Wa-wait, when did- Infia, how didn’t I notice you changed your clothes? You look really good,” Lute said. She flinched in surprise, but instead of hiding her face as usual, she simply tipped her skirt with a blush in her cheeks.

“Thank you. It’s just stuff that Esther got for me, though,” she said. He turned to the Pikachu and noticed a similar anklet of her own equipped, but her costume hadn’t changed. She was as blank as ever at him however, so he settled his thoughts and approached.

“Esther,” he said. She only looked cross at him, but when he bowed at her feet, she almost fell backward. “I’m sorry for how much I hurt you. All the mean things I said and did. I’m sorry.”

“I- er- oh geez, you’re the last person I expect to go bowing at my feet. Get up, you look stupid.” She rubbed her face. “It’s gonna take more than that for me to forgive you, though. I’m normally cool, but I can’t just like, snap and forget about all this.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me right away,” he said, getting up. “But I don’t want my own immaturity to throw away our friendship, either. Or even if we just have to work together for the remainder of the journey, I hope we can get along.”

“Okay whoa, you rehearse this or something?” She looked away and folded her arms. Everyone else’s eyes were on her, making her groan and turn back after a moment. “I just can’t look at you the same way again. What you said is literally haunting me.”

“Esther, I—”

“Don’t bother with it. I-I’ll just do what I’ve been doing, ‘kay? We get into a fight, I’ve got your back. Make sure you’ve got mine with those new powers of yours, too. I’m not gonna be a cheeky butthead, either,” she said.

He didn’t know how to reply, but it definitely hurt to hear her talk like that. This didn’t even look to be like something else bothered her. It was a new experience to be this close to her and not have her dote over him the way she usually did. He always thought of it as slightly bothersome, yet now he actually wanted her to say sike and to body slam him or something.

But she didn’t. They continued with an awkward exchange of silent, awkward stares and uncertain body language, and that was what burnt. What she said, she meant.

“Huh? Was there a love triangle or something?” Kuri said, finally breaking between them.

“Oh piss off,” she said, and went back to the group. The Chespin looked back and forth between the two of them and shrugged, a dumb smile on his face.

“Are all of you ready to depart?” Azu said with a smile. Sophitia looked over everyone and nodded. “Please follow me closely. The mystery dungeon works in unexpected ways.”

“It’s a mystery dungeon, we kinda expect that,” Sophitia said.

Azu walked slowly and had to use her staff to keep herself upright. Thankfully it didn’t take them very long to reach the edge of the village, where a dusty road that led right up the mountain from the looks of things. Stone candle lamps with an eccentric design lined the path, and each one glowed with a curious blue flame. Thick, dark green woodland lined their sides, so many bushes and things that the depths of the area looked like a dark cave even though it was in the middle of the day.

“This is the Umbra Grove. Unless you follow the candles perfectly, you will find yourselves circling back to the village, even though you are ascending,” Azu said. “Your highness, please allow me to guide you directly.”

“Um, I know I’m the leader and all, but calling me royalty is a little too flattering,” Sophitia said. Her smug smile turned into a sharp yelp when Azu hit her foot with her staff.

“Do you think I’m senile? I’m not talking about you. I know that not all blue Sylveon are male,” Azu said.

“Then who are you talking about? You’ve been saying that ever since we got here,” Esther said, arms tucked behind her head. But the Azumarill didn’t answer, and begun her ascent instead.

“I did say to stop calling me that,” Kuri sighed.

“You? Ha. Can’t tell what’s a bigger joke. You thinking you’re royalty, or the fact that one of us is being mistaken for one,” Sophitia said.

“Oh my. Have you not told them yet?” Azu turned to walk backwards. Kuri grumbled and folded his arms. “If there was ever a safer place on this planet to reveal the truth, here it is. Not one from the modern world has set foot on this island in over a decade. Besides yourselves, of course.”

“Oh wow. Pokémon really don’t come here?” Esther said. “Wait, didn’t Fluffy Cheeks say that criminals like to escape here?”

“And do you ever hear from them again?” Azu said. There was quiet. “This island is full of mystery dungeons. Those who get lost here either perish or become feral. It is truly an island untouched by the modern Pokémon of Aseria, and we are the remaining Ancients who’d like to keep it this way.”

“That sounds terrible. But it keeps you all safe, so,” Infia said. “But I’m a little confused. How are you all Ancients?

“I mean it’s fairly obvious they’re Ancients. So then what’s the big truth about it? You clearly wanna tell us something,” Sophitia said. She had to stop, surprised to find that the path had begun to wind around the mountain. The grove still surrounded them, but the road and the lamps were no longer on a straight path.

“Are you all aware of what the Mega Stone is?” Azu said. Lute had to look up to recall it.

“Naivie told us about it once. That’s where the Ancient Flowers draw their energy from, right? And the flowers were split across the planet to spread V-Waves evenly,” he said. “Do you know where the stone is?”

“Grk. Just so you know, if we keep talking about this, I’m putting you kids on a contract,” Kuri said, still arms folded. He looked a little distressed and serious, however. “If you don’t keep quiet, I’ll kill you.”

“Calm down. Seems a bit much, doesn’t it?” Esther said.

“That’s correct, the Mega Stone is the source of all V-Waves, and effectively, the source of Aseria’s ecosystem as a result. The only Pokémon who knew where the Mega Stone is were the guardians of the flowers and the royalty of the Ancient civilizations. So it’s very important we keep the only remaining king and queen as well taken care of as possible,” Azu said.

“But Kuri? Him of all people?” Sophitia snickered.

“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a comment I’ve heard commoners make a lot back in the day. But he married into the family. A lot of Pokémon questioned her highness’s decision to marry a ruffian fighter, but they’re the only ones still alive today, so you’ve got to hand it to their survival skills. She knew what she was getting into.” Azu shrugged.

“Married into the- wait, that means Gen’s an Ancient. An Ancient queen?” Lute gasped. Kuri started growling.

“Gen? Is that a nickname she offered?” Azu said.

“An alias she invented to protect herself. But that’s right. She’s Princess Genesis, the only one left in the world who knows where the Mega Stone is,” Kuri said. He unfolded his arms.

“But that means you’re both Ancients. H-hold on a second. There’s no way you’re _that_ important. How old are you?” Sophitia said.

“Well I can’t go answer that if you won’t tell me your age now, can I?” He snickered. “I’ll give you a hint, though. My biggest aim right now is to drive you all crazy before I reach age forty.”

“Good luck, _old man_,” Esther said.

“It’s kind of obvious when you think about it, though. Gen chooses to live in Angard and somehow protects the entire country on her own. I don’t mean to brag about us Ancients, but we’re freaking gods when it comes to power,” Kuri said.

“That’s what I don’t get. You’re less than forty, Kuri,” Infia said. “Why are they called Ancients if they aren’t actually ancient? Exactly how long ago did the world start changing?”

Kuri suddenly went dead quiet, and faced the floor as he folded his arms and shut his eyes. It brought everyone to a stop, and Naivie almost screamed at him.

“A little under twenty years ago. The same time as Aseria’s ‘meteorite event’,” he said. His tone took Lute by surprise. For some reason, those words felt like they physically hurt him to say.

He knew what the meteorite event was. It was an important part of Aseria’s history, and something he learnt a lot about in school. Giant comets fell from outer space and caused colossal damage to civilization, where if not for the Pokémon uniting together, Aseria would have been destroyed. It was thought to be the lowest point in Aserian history due to the fact that the Ancients and their limited technology couldn’t prepare for the comets.

What he didn’t know was that that event took place so recently, let alone had been resolved so well that he was able to grow up in the world that he knew. The conclusion to the event was thought to be Lassic’s breakthrough and leadership abilities, which tied greatly into his technological discoveries and led him to be who he is today.

“Impossible!” Sophitia gasped, making Lute jump out of his thoughts. She’d gone stiff, and shuddered with a pale gaze.

“Sophitia?” he said, worried about her. She took one look at him and gulped.

“Never mind. Sorry about that. We’re getting distracted. Let’s hurry up before Naivie blows a fuse at us,” she said.

“Excuse me?” Naivie squeaked.

“Don’t complain if I’m hurrying us up,” she said. She shoved Azu a bit to get her moving. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Kuri. Gen’s secret is safe with us. That’s an order from me as your superior, all of you. Once we leave this island, Gen is the Gen we always knew, and no one is to even drop a hint, understand?”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Lute tilted his head. She didn’t say anything, but the serious glance she gave Kuri seemed to relax him, so he left it at that.

“Up ahead it gets dark. Make sure you keep close and follow me carefully, now,” Azu said.

“But it’s still clear. And there aren’t any trees,” Infia said.

Rocky walls lined their right, while the jungle they had passed was a short jump below to their left. The path hadn’t felt steep, so it was surprising to see how high up they had actually climbed. The road they were on was level with the towering woodland from earlier. Looking up the mountainside, they didn’t have long left to climb, either.

“_There haven’t been any feral Pokémon yet. But this island was teeming with them,_” Lute realised. He was about to bring that up, but then everything went dark and everyone came to a stop.

“Hey what gives? What kind of move is this?” Sophitia cried.

“I don’t know. Nobody move,” Phoenix said.

“A bit late for that, whoever’s hugging me. Mind my skirt!” Esther said.

“S-sorry!” Infia squeaked.

“Oh, Infia. It’s just you. You’re okay,” she said.

“Listen and follow carefully now, all of you,” Azu said. They could hear her staff tap the floor a few times, and then the yellow star on the end gave off a dim glow. “You can see my staff, right? You _must_ follow my directions exactly, and stay close. Don’t even attempt to shortcut me or we’ll loop back to the start.”

It sounded easy, but it put Lute right on edge. This darkness clearly wasn’t natural. It was so dark that he couldn’t even see the floor below. The only things around him that weren’t totally black were Azu’s glowing staff and the blue flames from the lamps. And even those were a distance away.

Then he quickly realised the true terror of this challenge. Everything hadn’t just turned black – it had vanished from sight and left nothing but the black. Every single one of the streetlamps in the area was visible, even those behind where the wall to the right of him just was. With only those lights visible and not the actual terrain leading up to them, it meant he could walk right off the cliff and not realise until it was too late.

That drove him to focus harder than ever before. He breathed silently and traced the movements of Azu’s staff closely. He waited until she looked to be a few paces away before repeating her path. He could still hear the scruffy scratches and shuffles of the group every time they moved, as well as the occasional prod when one of them bumped into him. It didn’t annoy him in any way, but it did make him flinch every time.

A few minutes onwards and things seemed simple enough. Azu moved in straight lines, so everyone’s silent focus almost felt unnecessary. But a little later and things started to get unsettling. He could hear noises he couldn’t hear before, and the lights got dimmer for some reason. Static buzzing and a low rumble through the air distracted him. He could’ve sworn he could hear unfamiliar voices too, although they were far off in the distance. But when Azu started to go in more complex paths, he began to worry.

Two steps left. Then two forward. The three to the right. One backward. Four to the right again. She started to really wind around an area, and he felt that if he stopped watching her for even an instant, he’d make a mistake and they’d have to start again. No one had said anything since, so he wondered how they managed. Could they hear the bundled whispers he could hear, too?

Right when he least suspected it, something touched him and his body reacted with the harshest cringe he ever felt. He almost threw up from how hard his body shook, cuddled by uncomfortable sensations. He let out a dry screech as his breath became unsettled, and he froze to the spot.

“Wait, what? Sophitia? Infia? Phoenix, you guys, you there?” he cried.

All he got as a response was louder static buzzing, so much that it became irritating. He cried out, growled, and grabbed his head as it became headache inducing.

“Lute, Lute c’mon stop it! Wake up already, please,” Sophitia cried. She cradled him in her paws and feelers. It took him a few blinks to realise where he was, and he settled down. “Lute?”

“Sophitia,” he said blankly. She put him down, but she was right close to him.

“Are you alright? What happened?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but even he wasn’t sure. He snuck a look around to find he was at the top of the mountain and totally unharmed. Everyone else was behind Sophitia with concern written all over them, and behind them, a lonely stone temple lined with elaborate columns.

“I’m… fine. I’m okay. Sorry about that,” he said just as blankly.

“Geez kid, you almost jumped off the mountain. You’re gonna give someone a heart attack if you keep up this weird stuff,” Kuri said.

“Anyway, we have arrived. I cannot enter the temple as I am not of authority to do so, but you shouldn’t face any trouble. There should just be a Teleportal that leads right to the flower,” Azu said. “When you are done, you can walk straight through the darkness and let it loop you back to Obire.”

“Before you go. That darkness back there… is that a V-Wave phenomenon?” Lute asked.

Azu shifted in interest. “You’re nosy about this land, aren’t you? And if that was a guess, it was a well educated one. There are a lot of mushrooms in this area, so certain parts of the mystery dungeons are rendered in total darkness, which they thrive on.”

“_And technology, like King’s Shield communicators, uses V-Waves, too. I wonder… if it’s possible…_”


	26. The Next Phase

“_Listen to me now. You’re not doing the move properly.”_

_“I’m doing exactly what you said!” _the little Sylveon cried.

_“Look. Look up here, at me.” _The mother spoke sternly and pointed to herself.

At long last, the vision was clear enough to make her out. She was a regal figure with a beautiful tiara of pink gems on her head. Her body was grey as stone, yet smooth and round, with a sleek figure but a young complexion. A short white dress adorned with a pink diamond covered her arms and body, while her lower half took on rocky form. This rocky half had a large pink diamond half sticking out of it.

_“Follow me carefully, now,” _she said.

The Pokémon tensed itself and tucked its arms together, cupping space between them as it drew them back. With its intense cry came a glow of white energy between its palms, which it then began to cultivate. The energy grew until a large sphere of light was held within.

_“Wow,” _the little Sylveon said, entranced.

_“Pay attention. You try it now,” _the motherly Pokémon instructed, after she relieved the attack.

The vision focused solely on the two Pokémon, blurring the scenery. The Sylveon copied the larger Pokémon’s pose as best as she could, using her feelers in place of hands. Energy formed, but the sounds and sparkling energy was different.

_“Focus on your feelings. You’re still using Moonblast!”_ The Pokémon said.

_“Ahh!”_ Sylveon squeaked.

The cry caused a lack of focus, and then an explosion went off. The motherly Pokémon was unharmed, but the little Sylveon had been knocked to the floor. She shivered and sounded like she was going to cry.

_“Are you alright?” _the motherly Pokémon asked as she reached out.

_“I’m fine! This is just a setback!” _the little Sylveon shouted and slapped their hand away. She got up and performed the motion again, though that only seemed to make the Pokémon frown at her._ “What’s wrong? I can’t be weak and rely on others all the time. I have to be strong too. That’s why you taught me all these moves, Diancie!”_

_“But you are missing an important part about this last move.”_ Diancie shook her head._ “Moonblast might seem to be an exceptionally powerful attack, but Return can be far stronger. However, Return cannot be used without a genuine faith in others. You will never progress and become any stronger unless you understand that. Let the Pokémon help you, and in turn, help them.”_

_“But if I’m strong enough, I won’t ever need their help. They can just leave everything to me!” _Sylveon said.

_“Then why are you training?” _Diancie said.

There was a pause.

_“You are nearly there, capable of many mighty powers. And of the rare fairy type species, many of these powers are exclusive only to you. Use those powers to just, help everyone. Spend your life making everyone you can be happy.”_

…

The group woke up all around the same time, rubbed their heads, stretched, and all other habits. Just like the past two prayers, an enormous flower had grown in the middle of the area, accompanied by a slumbering Shaymin nestled by its roots. They were used to it now, so there was little confusion about what had happened while they were unconscious.

“It’s happened three times now, but no one’s actually mentioned it. That’s Sophitia in those visions, isn’t it?” Lute said.

“Huh? No, you mentioned it,” Sophitia said.

“It does seem like it’s Sophitia, doesn’t it? They’re learning fairy attacks from that Pokémon called Diancie.” Infia tilted her head.

“Our Sophitia seems to be able to use those moves after seeing the memory as well,” Phoenix said. “But we cannot confirm it. I do not know if my visions differ, though. Until now, Diancie had not been named, nor had it been as clearly visible.”

“Sounds like they’re the same to me, ‘cos that’s what I saw, too. So does that mean you know Moonblast now, Sophitia?” Esther said.

“No, no I don’t!” she gasped and stumbled away from them. “W-why does it matter?”

“It’s an important part of your past. I did just promise you I was going to help you get it back, and I meant it,” Lute said. “Naivie, do you know anything about all this?”

“Heck if I know! But I do know one thing. All of this stuff has to do with Ancients, right? They’re the ones who maintained this world. But Sophitia is not an Ancient,” Naivie said. She sat firm on the Sylveon’s head. “I’m almost certain that she has nothing to do with any of this. I don’t know what visions you’re talking about.”

“So you’re not seeing them. Does the name Diancie ring a bell?” Kuri said.

“Hold on hold on, don’t I get a say in this?” Sophitia jumped between them. “Most of this doesn’t make any sense. We pray, we get visions, I copy the Sylveon in those visions and learn a new move, and that’s that. It doesn’t really matter who those Pokémon are, whether it’s me or not.”

“But it seems so much like… what if it is to do with your past?” Lute frowned at her.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is who I am now, right? And there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing where I have to look into the past, anyway,” she said. She slowly turned to the flower. “And who I am now is a person who decided to help save Aseria.”

“Well said. To that end, some congrats are in order. You guys have only got one flower left to grow. One!” Naivie said, flying up high. Lute couldn’t help but look away and groan at it, but everyone else dismissed the negative for smiles, so he went straight faced and paid attention. “The way you guys bumbled about and fell apart, I never thought you could do it. But here we are, on the crux of success.”

“You know what? I can get behind that. Where’s our last target?” Esther said, a paw on her hip.

“You’re eager? And not tired?” Phoenix said.

“Hell yeah. If we can go and do that last one like, right now, we might as well get it over with!” She smiled.

“I’m hungry though.” Infia rubbed her belly.

“We’ll just take it naturally. No rushing into this since all the V-wave stuff stops working and all that,” Sophitia said.

“Your final destination is in the northern reaches of Aseria. There’s a large ocean to cross and a river that runs through a series of valleys, but the temple sits in the middle. In my time, you needed to be able to swim to reach it. You couldn’t even get there by flying,” Naivie said.

“Underwater travel. Okay, that’s a bit of a problem,” Sophitia said.

“Nah. You guys will be fine!” Naivie cheered.

“In case you didn’t notice, none of us are water types. And we breathe air, too,” Kuri said, arms folded and eyes closed.

“You’ll still be fine. A couple five-minute dips into seawater will be no problem for you guys. You’ve all done it before,” she said with a snicker.

“Okay yeah I don’t think me or Fluffy Cheeks can hold our breaths that long,” Esther said.

“And… and… er-erm, my clothes,” Infia said, scrunching herself up a bit.

“That too. Ah well, we’ll figure somethin’ out. Maybe that old bubble bunny knows something,” Esther said.

“Old… bubble bunny?” Phoenix said.

“Y’know, the old bunny that brought us up here!” she said.

“Azu,” Lute said. He flinched as a vibration went off in his bag. He shuffled through to get to his badge, surprised to find a call coming through on it. However, the caller’s name was withheld. “Huh? How is?”

“Answer it anyway. If they’re calling off-duty agents, it has to be important,” Sophitia said. The group gathered behind Lute as he activated the call, bringing up a holographic screen in front of them. To their surprise, Gen’s face showed up, and she wasn’t even looking at them.

“Lute, oh thank goodness. Is Kuri with you?” the Meowstic hissed. She looked a desperate as she sounded.

“Gen, hello. Yeah, he met up with us a little while ago,” he said before the Chespin pushed him aside.

“Hi, what’s up babe? You can’t be missing me already,” he said.

“Now _really_ isn’t the time for that you ass. I don’t know what you did, but an enormous fleet of Spirle soldiers showed up here. I’ve only just gotten the chance to call,” she said, still whispering hard. Kuri’s face immediately switched to one of terror. “I’m not gonna be able to drive them out. I’m talking a literal army of them. There are high points here.”

“Do you know why they’re there? What’re they doing?” Kuri said.

“I don’t know, but they’re definitely searching for something. I don’t want to think the worst, but they might be looking for me. Regardless, get over here as soon as you can. They’re trashing the place as we speak.”

“Damn right I’m getting over there. Please stay hidden, hang tight. We’re on our way,” he said. She cut off the call before he finished talking, and then there was a pause. Kuri closed his fists and shook. The others could feel the intensity emanating from him until he snapped, and he glared at everyone with gritted teeth. “One of you ratted us, didn’t you?” he shouted at the top of his voice.

“Ratted you?” Lute gasped.

“Gen’s identity. It’s meant to be secret from Spirle!” He stomped a foot. “It’s meant to be secret from everyone! Did one of you tell King’s Shield? Or Lassic?”

“You’ve been with us the whole dang time. No one’s leaked anything,” Sophitia said.

“You have no fucking idea how terrifying this is. Good gods, why- forget it. We’re going to Angard, now!” he ordered, and stormed off.

“Whoa hold up! But we’re so close. How can—” Naivie said.

“Naivie, I know you don’t give a shit about our lives. But get this now: if we do not save Gen, _all _of this will be for naught.” He pointed at the Carbink. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Princess Genesis is the only Pokémon left in the world who knows where the Mega Stone is.”

“You think Spirle found out? And they’re trying to get that from her?” Lute said. He had to jog after Kuri.

“They’ve been searching for her for decades now for that very reason. If they’ve figured out that she’s been in Angard the whole time, then they won’t pull any punches. We _have_ to keep her safe!”

“But what does Lassic have to do with this? You asked us if we told him,” Infia said. However, Kuri didn’t answer.

That left Lute to focus and think for a moment. There were a lot of loose dots of ideas he had about this, but they all had connections. If he was sure of everything he knew, that is.

The group reached the village quickly by abusing the loop effect of the mystery dungeon – all they had to do was run in the wrong direction when the darkness took over, and they ‘looped back’ to the entrance. But when they arrived, things were worse than they predicted. Screams, cries, and fleeing groups of Pokémon made the group sprint into action.

“What the?” Lute cried as he skidded to a stop.

A familiar Golisopod scraped its claws against the floor as it swung and swiped aside an Ivysaur and a Lombre that had opposed. It roared into the air and then glared in the opposite direction, where it had to use its arms to block a fiery blast of energy. The attack exploded and shrouded it in dust.

Lute followed the attack’s direction and flinched in surprise. Silver was there with a few strong Pokémon at her side. She spat a small flame in threat, keeping her eyes on the enemy. They glared at one another for short while, but were interrupted by the arrival of two other Spirle high points.

“I had a feeling this was going too well. Rhodeas, you insolent wretch! Listen to us and don’t go running off on your own,” Victoria said as she fluttered in front of it. It barely reacted. “Are you listening to me? Don’t think just because we’re winning that I’m not watching your behaviour.”

“You know what happens when you get her mad, and you _don’t _wanna get her mad!” Victor said, laughing aloud. He bounced up and down around Silver’s group. “That goes for you palookas, too! You’re really in for it, in case you didn’t already realise!”

Silver tensed up. “This is such an aimless attack. Tell me, what’s your real goal here?”

“Aimless? What, did ya think we were gonna keep lettin’ King’s Shield get on our behinds while going about our work?” Victor said. He screeched with laughter. “We’re all set. Our mission for world domination is in motion. But for it to work, we need to get rid of petty little heroines like you!”

“I didn’t take you for text book villains. World domination? That’s got to be a joke,” Silver said, losing her intensity.

“You see this guy here? You’ll be at his mercy. He is the fruits of my research, the strongest of our superpowered Risen Pokémon! He’ll destroy all our possible opposition on his own. And don’t think that you can manipulate him with your mortal feelings. He is my child! A good child who only listens to me and _never_ fails,” Victoria said. Her eyes squinted with excitement.

“Are you sure about that?” Sophitia smiled cockily. “Last I checked, Lute sent that guy into overdrive!”

“Sophitia, Lute!” Silver gasped. “Wait, is that Kuri? What in the world is going on?”

“Oh yeah I’d love to stay and chat, but we’ve got a lot more important shit to deal with. So if you’ll excuse us,” Kuri said.

Victoria calmed down. “There you guys are. At long last, we found you. Do not think that things will go as they did last time. I perfected the kinks in Rhodeas’ coding. He won’t be losing to your little V-Pocket monster anytime soon.”

“Look guys, we _really_ don’t have time for this. They must know about me, too,” Kuri said quietly. He glanced back at everyone. “These clowns are here to stall us while they hunt for Gen. We can’t let them waste our time.”

“I know that, but we can’t go and leave them, can we? After everything Azu did for us,” Sophitia said, looking around at the village. Habitats had been smashed to bits, flames raged, and she could constantly hear attacks going off followed by villainous cheers.

“If you guys really don’t have anything to hide from me, then you’ll leave this to Silver and help me out. A couple of poor villagers will have to wait,” Kuri said.

“The thing is, Lute really is the only one who can beat Rhodeas,” she said. “You know what? Screw it. We’ll find a way. Kuri, go ahead and get to Gen. We’ll catch up as soon as we can.”

“And then you screw things up for me?” he replied. She slapped his arm with a feeler and brought him close, and then slipped something into it. He snuck a glance, eyes widened that it was her King’s Shield badge. Seeing that, his face tensed, and he nodded. “You better not be far behind.”

“It’s a promise.” She shoved him away.

“I am a lady of honour and reason.” Victoria came forward. “This doesn’t have to come to vulgar bloodshed. I am giving you a chance to forfeit. If you don’t, I will have to set him on you.”

“You, a lady of honour? As far as I’m concerned, you reek of filth!” Esther said.

“Reek?” Victoria said.

Yeah. _Reek_. I’ve met Muk that smell better than you,” Esther said as she confronted her. “I’ve heard about you, but I didn’t think you’d be this despicable.”

“Esther, wait—” Infia whispered.

“So what’s this I hear about you being the one who made Infia? Doesn’t that make you her mother? Shouldn’t mothers be more respectful to their children?” Esther said, arms folded.

“Infia,” Victoria said, going quiet. She squinted at the Minun, who cowered behind Esther. “So that’s what this is about. You’re going to lecture me on why I should care about that worthless defect?”

“Worthless defect? Infia is a living Pokémon!” Esther shouted.

“Children should listen to their elders if they want to learn and be respected. Those that don’t, grow up to be failures who die rotting on the streets. That Minun made its choice when it chose to defy me so,” Victoria said with a tired sigh. “Silver, are these Pokémon really your newest King’s Shield recruits? If these are them, then it’s awfully pathetic, even for you.”

“They’re… yes, they are,” Silver said. She glanced back and forth between the two groups.

“Seriously? They’re a team?” Victoria cried, genuinely surprised. “The worthless, defective, disobedient V Pockets, the spoilt little mascot, and—”

Sophitia shifted backward, concerned about the sudden silence when she was the one being looked at. Victoria spat, appearing disgusted.

“And whatever this sorrowful embarrassment of a species is. This is your team?” Victoria said. “If it wasn’t for Lute’s powers, the whole lot of you should’ve died a long time ago. But whatever. My perfect creation, Rhodeas, is here to give you that long overdue death that you deserve. For even daring to speak to me this way, I’m going to set an example using your corpses.”

“So much for being honourable. You’re a fricking coward!” Esther cried.

“Rhodeas, be a dear and give these Pokémon a good First Impression,” Victoria said as she flew up and out of the way.

“Here it comes!” Sophitia shifted into a battle-ready pose. The others did the same before she even instructed. The whole group kept their eyes locked on the Golisopod.

Lute knew what to do here, but his confidence was shaky. He had already been proven to have lost his powers once, and he didn’t know how they would function here. He just hoped that if he withstood the pain of that giant insect’s attacks, he might grow strong enough to take it down again.

He kept his eyes on it and nothing else, his chest heavy and breath held for whenever it decided to move. It stared right back, its expressionless eyes and rigid pose overwhelming in presence. Thanks to his focus, he was able to see its foot twitch and shift the slightest inch backwards. He braced himself in response, and a small instinct in the back of his mind told him to use Quick Attack in an effort to dodge.

The instant Rhodeas moved, it shot forward with one claw held back behind it. But Silver made her own move at a shockingly similar speed. The Goodra skidded into the ground and whipped her head around in a circle to throw the ponytail-like appendages from her head forward like lassos. One missed Rhodeas while the other snapped around its arm, bringing it to very sudden halt. There was a struggle and Silver was pulled forward a little, but a stomp of her feet and a feral roar later, she had Rhodeas totally pinned to the spot.

“What in the world? Let go of him!” Victoria shrieked.

“Don’t you kids just stand there. Finish him off, now!” Silver snarled as she pulled hard..

“Infia!” Esther held a paw out. Infia linked paws with her, and the duo nuzzled their cheeks together to generate a blinding amount of electricity in an instant. They danced together with a brief moment of steps, and then Infia released Esther with a romantic twirl. By that point, the Pikachu was a crackling arrow of bolts, which were released in a huge, bright yellow beam.

Rhodeas let out a panicked gurgle right before it hit, and then roared aloud on impact, its voice engulfed by the resulting explosion. It was left sizzling and spasming, but Silver wasn’t about to let it go just like that. Using her appendage, she yanked it toward her and drew an arm back in the process. She caught it with a flame-infested uppercut of a Fire Punch to send it skyward, where she then released it from her appendage. She quickly threw up a beam of energy towards it, an attack that looked like a purple meteor.

“Rhodeas!” Victoria screamed just as Silver’s Draco Meteor hit.

It caused an enormous explosion in the air, large enough to have everyone shield themselves and hold their breaths. Even when the smoke was brushed away, Rhodeas didn’t come down. The only thing that fell around them were smouldering pieces of rock.

“Did she kill him?” Sophitia gasped.

“No… something tells me he actually might not have been alive to begin with,” Phoenix said. He glared with gritted fangs. “But that Silver… she’s way stronger than I ever pictured.”

“You’re tellin’ me!” Esther squeaked.

“Enough games, Victoria. Come quietly and we won’t have to break any more of your toys,” Silver said. The Spritzee and the Swirlix had been gawking in shock the whole time, but snapped upon her words.

“You… you, you you you, you’re all so annoying! How could you dare?” Victoria shuddered and rubbed her head.

“What’s the matter? Got nothing left?” Sophitia said.

“Yeah! Time for you to come down here and fight properly,” Esther said.

But the Spritzee only shivered with fury, and then suddenly froze. “We’ll settle this the next time we meet, if you’re even still alive by then. Come, Victor! We’re getting out of here.”

“Aww what? But I was just getting excited. I didn’t even get to fight,” he whined. Her look intensified, and he flinched. “I mean- okay honey, I’m right behind ya!”

“Don’t run, come back here!” Esther shouted, going on all fours to give chase. Silver stopped her however, and stood in the group’s way. “Silver?”

“Treason is the bigger crime,” she said. They could only watch as the two fairies disappeared into the distance, their fellow Spirle goons giving chase from the ground below. Minutes later, the Pokémon of the village returned, many of them injured, covered in dirt, and furious with Lute and the others.

“What happened? I thought this island was normally untouched?” Lute said.

Silver took a while to respond, and held up a hand to tell the crowd to remain quiet. She turned her back to address Lute and the others, and her assistant agents gathered beside her.

“About an hour ago, Spirle launched a massive attack on key locations across Aseria. Included in those were our bases in the Ministry of Science and Pokétopia,” Silver said. Their eyes widened. “They knew how to get in, who was there, and what we would do to counterattack them during such an attack. The whole world has suffered losses today.”

“But how? And if that happened, why didn’t you call?” Sophitia cried.

“We did. Your communication was out of bounds. You were in the temples we ordered you to avoid,” Silver said. She shifted her head to silently order the Blaziken beside her. “On top of that, we managed to trace an unknown signal that was transmitting unauthorised data. It led us here, where we found Victoria terrorizing this village.”

“Wait, are you accusing us?” Sophitia said. The Blaziken completely ignored her adversity towards them to pat her down and go through her bag. “Get off me! The heck do you think you’re doing?”

“If you have nothing to hide, then you won’t decline us searching you. It’s a standard procedure. Every single agent got searched when this communication line was discovered,” Silver said. She looked unbothered by everything she said and did, and that annoyed the group to no end. But Sophitia stood down anyway, and raised her feelers so they were out of the way.

“We’re really doing this? First Kuri, now you guys, too? Does nobody trust us?” Esther complained as she obeyed.

Lute was nervous enough to sweat about the whole thing. Even though he knew in his heart that none of them would or even could betray King’s Shield like this, he had a horrible feeling in the back of his throat. Gen’s potential discovery, followed by their own comrades here to have a go at them? Even if all of this went his way, some kind of grand scheme had been set in motion and he didn’t understand any of it enough to say or do anything right now. It had to be that, the scheme of some super intelligent perpetrator that had brilliantly tangled them into a plot so complex that it had their allies suspecting each other.

The Blaziken searched him after it searched Sophitia, patting him down all over. He couldn’t help but gulp when they started, and held his breath right up until they were done. He checked out okay, but the fire type didn’t say a word as it moved onto Infia. None of them could betray King’s Shield and work for Spirle. It just wasn’t possible. If they had willingly done so, then they couldn’t be heroes who could awaken the flowers. He had to believe that.

“Please be careful,” Infia whispered, keeping her arms up. Her face was going red with stress, and she shivered well beyond her control.

“It’ll be okay, Infia. They won’t find anything because we haven’t done anything. This is fucking stupid, they let those High Points get away for this!” Esther said.

Once the group had been patted down, the Hitmonlee of the agents stepped up. He hovered a small device over each of them. It was some sort of metallic scanner which bleeped once a second and sped up when it detected anything made of presumably metal. It did so when it came to scanning their bags, which of course only led them to things like their badges or the jewellery on Infia’s leg. Nothing incriminating was found.

Just when the anxiety was about to be over as the search was finishing up, the scanner went off when it wasn’t expected to. All were confused as the Hitmonlee hovered it over Esther’s face, and then her chest, where it quietened down. He put it over her face again, which made it pick right back up. Everyone looked at her in total confusion.

“Restrain her!” Silver shouted, and the Pokémon kicked into action. Blaziken and Hitmonlee pinned her to the ground in an instant.

“Wait wait wait what the hell gives? Get the heck off me!” she screamed.

“Esther, what?” Lute whispered.

“I dunno what the hell’s up! This thing must be broken!” she shouted.

“But… that’s impossible. They found something,” Phoenix said. He was dumbfounded. “They actually found something.”

“The rest of you are under arrest. You’re coming back to Pokétopia for further investigation,” Silver ordered. “Resistance will result in a license to kill. You’ve been warned.”

“But this… this is… there has to be some kind of mistake. Esther would never—” Infia cried.

“Silence. Now march,” Silver ordered. Her agents held Esther up rather painfully, keeping her arms tied back and hung her from there. She squirmed and struggled of course, shouting various profanity. But it was all useless, the Hitmonlee’s grip wouldn’t budge at all.

“But Esther is… no, she couldn’t have… she couldn’t be,” Infia whimpered.

“It’s better we stay quiet and obey, guys,” Sophitia said as she put them down with her feelers.

“But Sophitia!” Infia cried.

“I know what this looks like. But trust me. You trust Esther, right?” she said. Infia moaned and looked down, shivering even worse. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”


	27. Loneliness Together

“At least tell us what they’re doing to her. You can’t leave us in the dark like this, please!” Infia cried, slapping her paws against the door.

“Will you stop that? All you’re doing is distracting the scientists,” one of the agents shouted her. “Reminder that you guys are all under contempt right now. Sit down and be quiet or we’ll be forced to pass premature judgement!”

“But she’s innocent! They could be hurting her when she’s done nothing wrong,” she cried, hitting the door even harder.

“Infia, please! What’s gotten into you?” Sophitia said, pulling her back with her feelers. The Minun sniffled and shuddered, but accepted the grip and gave up there.

They were back in the underground base in Pokétopia, but there was clear evidence of the Spirle attack that Silver mentioned. Most of the machinery was damaged, glass was smashed, walls were marked with burns, and what few staff that were still there were injured in places. A horrible battle had definitely taken place here, and despite having nothing to do with it, Lute couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt from looking at it all.

It was cold and quiet, aside from the sniffles and shuffles of him and his group. Being underground, running water could be heard somewhere in the distance, and the smell implied that it was sewage or something. They had to bear it however, guarded by agents as they awaited the results of whatever they were doing to Esther in the test room. The instant the handle for that room opened, Infia shot to her feet, paws pressed together. Athens the Meowstic emerged from the room, signalling them to come over without a word.

The test room appeared to be mostly unharmed, thankfully. Silver, Marina, and a few other agents were present, though the latter were hard at work on the computers lining the room. Esther was slipping her shirt back on too, being watched closely by the same Hitmonlee as before.

“Esther!” Infia said. The Pikachu was snatched the moment she spoke, and she gave the Hitmonlee a brutal stare.

“This is a considerable situation if I ever knew one. I actually cannot believe things went on this long without us noticing,” Athens began, tucking his arms behind his back. “We’ve isolated the problem. It’s absurd, but no matter what way you put it, it gave Spirle the knowledge to act as they have.”

“Well then, what is it? Don’t mess about,” Sophitia said.

“Esther has some sort of camera implanted in her head,” he said, widening their eyes. “Amazingly, it isn’t the slightest bit detrimental to her health. However, it is intricate enough to broadcast everything she sees and hears to a location Spirle have been using as a base until now.”

“Well then what’re we waiting for? Let’s trace it and take down Spirle!” Sophitia said.

“Too late. We sent out agents to the location the moment we discovered it, but by the time we got there, they were long gone, all of their important data and records taken with them,” he said, scratching his chin. “The point is, everything your group has said and done until now, Spirle have seen it. They took record and planned today’s attack almost flawlessly.”

“But how? How could they do something like that to Esther? That’s just impossible!” Infia gasped.

“No… no it’s not,” Lute said, gulping aloud. “Spirle kidnapped her that one time. And then they handed her back to us without much of a fight. That was when we first met Tetra.”

“You catch on quickly, thankfully. Whilst we initially thought the act to be a petty little ransom game, it turns out that they predicted they might get useful information out of whatever agent came to rescue her. Or more specifically, you, Lute,” he said. The Eevee was shaking. “Don’t worry, we’re not accusing you anymore. With the absurdity of this scenario, even our veteran teams would have fallen for it. I assume they only picked you because they knew you were a new agent, a young one who might overlook details.”

“Thank goodness, anyway. With the base gone, they aren’t gonna sneak any new info from us,” Sophitia said.

“We can’t take any chances, though. We’ve begun preparations for your punishment, as well as what to do about Esther’s condition.”

“You’re still going to punish us?” Phoenix said.

“At the end of the day, your team is responsible for a mass damage to the entirety of the Agents of King’s Shield. And don’t forget, I saw you with Kuri. You are fully aware that he is a high priority for capture, yet you were aiding him,” Silver said. “Add in the continuous disobeying of Lassic’s orders to stay away from the temples and the Aseria legend, and well, your group’s been asking for a punishment for a while.”

“You are one rotten group, you know that?” Naivie said, popping out. “You’re seriously gonna lock these guys up for stuff that you just admitted is barely even their fault? That’s a real dick move, and trust me, I know about being a dick!”

“Esther’s operation comes first,” Athens said.

“Operation?” Phoenix said. Athens nodded.

“She was operated on to place that camera in her head in first place, so we’ll have to reverse the procedure to remove it. Although,” he said, tilting his head.

“Although?” Sophitia said slowly.

“I can’t quite picture how this might go. Our scientists and doctors are saying that they definitely won’t be able to remove it without serious damage to Esther in general,” he said, standing tall. He cleared his throat. “I’ll be blunt. Esther is going to lose her sight and hearing.”

Everyone’s mouths hit the floor, and Esther herself wrenched in shock. The Hitmonlee let her go however, to which she growled and closed her fists. “Is this some kinda joke? You guys are gonna make me deaf _and_ blind?”

“For the sake of Aseria’s future safety, we have to remove that camera. We’re being respectful in letting you know before we do this,” Silver said.

“This _is_ some kind of sick joke. Do you seriously expect us to be okay with this?” Phoenix raised his voice.

“This is her whole life we’re talking about here. The rest of her life will be ruined!” Lute said.

“You don’t have a choice in this matter. They could redirect the camera source at any time. As long as it’s there, what happened today is liable to happen again,” Silver said.

“Are you listening to yourself right now?” Phoenix said, livid. “We’re supposed to just sit here and let you take away this young girl’s life just because of what Spirle did to her. Would you do the same thing to yourself?”

That hit Silver, and she shifted back a bit. Her face barely changed though, something she was obnoxiously good at. “I would. For the sake of Aseria—”

“I call Taurosshit! This is what I hate about you adults, you always come up with these dumbass excuses to be the world’s biggest dickweeds!” Esther shouted. “Like, you can’t think of _anything_ else? Just ruin my career, my relationship, my whole fricking life just because _you_ screwed up? After treating my like your slave since I was a kid?”

“It’s not like we’re doing this because we want to, you know,” Marina finally spoke up, turning to them.

“Then figure out something else,” Esther screeched.

“Our backs are kind of against the wall here. We have to act fast, and this is the safest way for everyone,” she said.

“Mum, not you, too,” Lute said, shaking his head.

One look at him and she turned away, a depressing conflict in her eyes. “Like I said, it’s not like I’m doing this because I want to.”

“The whole lot of you have been very immature about this. The things you’ve done and the position you are currently in, you actually deserve execution,” Silver said. “So when we tell you that we’re being honourable in letting you live, we mean it. It’s these consequences, or death. If you understand that, then stand down.”

Lute and the group did stand down from there, but not without livid gazes and furious growls. He felt something awful growing in the pits of his stomach, a horrible brew that concocted hellish ideas in his mind.

This all happened because he gave in to everyone. Because he decided to come back and give life another chance, here he was, reminded that he was only ever here to serve those that created him. And now, he knew that this didn’t even apply to him alone – they were prepared to take everything away from him and everyone he cared about, and all for something that they weren’t mature enough to take responsibility for.

Silver turned her back to address Esther, and that felt like the perfect opportunity. All he had to do was summon up his most powerful attack and stab her in the back, and then he’d be home free. He would be satisfied giving her what she deserved. He resisted, though. Even though she was saying something, prolonging the one moment her guard was down, he simply couldn’t bring himself to make a move.

A shrill crackle of bolts went off, making his heart jump out of his chest. A strong looking burst of yellow electricity had done the stabbing for him, an attack that manifested as an arrow of electricity that seemed to pierce right through Silver’s belly.

“Esther, now! Over here!” Infia shouted, on all fours.

“What… the—” Silver said on a shaky breath, in disbelief at the electric spear poking through her stomach. Esther herself seemed to be shocked, but the moment she heard Infia’s order, she obeyed and rushed over.

The next moment went by without Lute even registering what had just happened, or what was happening. The Minun proceeded to glow with an unstable amount of electricity, where her whole body seemed to disappear into a blinding glow of sparking bolts that matched her shape.

It all exploded into a storm of lightning that rained down on everything in the room, which threw everyone into a panic. Lute found himself dancing on the spot to try and avoid damage, but it turned out that all of the electricity that could hit him was being absorbed by Esther. The storm stopped just as suddenly as the lights went out. The instant they did, Infia slapped Lute’s head, throwing him into some kind of focus.

“Let’s go let’s go!” she said. He shook himself and blinked, barely adapting to the awful darkness that overcame the room. The agents were standing up, and he and his group were loitering. Her desperation made him run for it, tackling through the door and back through the underground base.

“What’re we doing?” Esther gasped.

“Gettin’ outta here, don’t question it!” Sophitia said, surprised to be behind Infia during their escape.

Marina was the first to get up, so she smashed a few buttons on the walls and tried to operate the nearest computer. Finding none of it functioning, she cursed under her breath, and then looked to the doorway. “The power’s out. We have to stop them by force.”

“Lady Silver,” Athens gasped, shivering at the sight of her. She was still frozen to spot, but as they both stared, the electric spear fizzled out into nothing. Silver appeared to be left unharmed, and rubbed her belly in total confusion. There was no damage, and she wasn’t paralysed anymore.

“Use your telepathy or something. Issue the order to catch them!” she ordered, snapping at him. “They’re going to try and leave the city. Don’t let them escape!”

Back with Lute and company, they had already begun to get assaulted by the agents remaining in the base. As they rushed through the dark halls and computer filled offices, attacks were thrown their way and some of the bigger agents even jumped out to confront them. A combined Thunderbolt and Flamethrower took care of an Aggron, while Sophitia’s surprise Moonblast took down an Ambipom.

“This way,” Phoenix said, taking the lead. He directed them away from the lifts that normally led to the Pokétopia Arcade, jumping up high to knock open an air vent. “Up here! With the power out, the lifts won’t work.”

“Looks like a tight fit,” Sophitia groaned, looking at the vent.

“Is now the time to complain?” he said, holding a paw out. One look back, and a crowd of Pokémon was already scrambling over the desks to reach them.

“Yeah yeah, I get it,” she said. She briefly charged a Moonblast and threw it in their direction, and then hopped up to crawl through.

It was a tight fit even for the smaller members of the group, and the stench of sewage water was at its strongest in here. Lute crinkled his nose in disgust, keeping his sense of urgency right up until he heard the grating on the other end of the vent get busted open. There was light at the end of the tunnel, a dim light.

“Ah, what—” he coughed as he fell from a surprising height. He splashed right into a shallow river of green water, spitting and thrashing about to get himself out of it.

“Ugh, it stinks! And it’s all over my clothes and everything,” Esther said, holding her tutu up. “I would’ve preferred stairs or something.”

“What kind of air vent leads into a sewer?” Infia cried, doing the same. “Can they find us here?”

“Yes. We’re only in the city sewers. We need to get out of the city if we’re to rest,” Phoenix said. He took off after that, sprinting through the sewer. “Be quick! Or they’ll mobilise a trap.”

“What was all that, anyway? Why did you do that?” Sophitia said, hopping on top of the water. “You’ve been acting crazy ever since they took Esther away for that examination.”

“I didn’t want them to hurt you. I-I get it, really, I do. If Spirle can see and hear everything we say and do, that puts Pokémon like Gen in danger,” she said, puffing between words. She was trying to keep up in a way that kept her as clean as possible, but gave in and ran on all fours, even though she fell pretty deep into the water. “But I can’t let them take away your sight and hearing. That’s all you have. You’ll never be able to dance or sing, or do anything. You won’t be normal anymore!”

“Infia,” Esther said, surprised to hear her tone. “I really appreciate it. But by doing this, aren’t we all like, public enemy number one, now? You guys are gonna get in a hell of a lotta trouble for this. It’s not worth it, you shoulda let me take the heat! We could’ve worked somethin’ out.”

“So, I think we’re all in agreement on escaping this King’s Shield dribble as we go about the Aseria legend, right?” Sophitia said. The two electric types were surprised.

“She adapts fast,” Lute said, slowing down to run beside them. “What she means is, you losing your life isn’t worth it for the rest of our safety. Besides, the real danger here right now is Spirle going after Gen. Kuri must be furious with us.”

“Oh shoot, I forgot about him,” Sophitia gasped. “We’re in little position to go to Angard right now, though. They took all our stuff, so you don’t have your weapon, do you?”

“No. But I can fight fine without it though, honestly,” Esther said.

“_Come to think of it, they didn’t take my necklace,_” Lute realised, tugging at it.

“This sewer will take us out by the gondola station that leads to the northern continent, anyway. Unfortunately, even I do not know anything about that place, though. It is off limits to me,” Phoenix said.

“Off limits even to you? What could be there that they don’t want everyone to see?” Lute said. “Naivie, don’t you know anything? Any info at all could help us right now.”

“In my time, it was an island called Reis. It was supposed to be looked after by a legendary Pokémon, but they were really lazy and stuff. Usually let a lot of waste pile up on the island,” Naivie said, appearing beside them. “But no matter what, they kept the underwater paths clean. Only the strong and the devout could get to the temple by walking underwater.”

“Oh right, the underwater thing,” Sophitia said, halting. “Great. King’s Shield against us, no supplies, and no chance of heading home. And now our only way forward forces us to drown? What’re we actually supposed to do?”

“We can deal with that one later. This way leads us outside the gondola station,” Phoenix said, stopping by a ladder.

“But wait, this is serious! If we can’t get to the temple, then all of this is for nothing,” she said.

“Regardless, we cannot stay here. Everyone, be on your guard,” he said, hopping up the ladder. He waited until everyone was hanging on below him before peeking his head out, having to push a manhole to do so.

Not spotting or hearing anything usual, he pushed the manhole aside and looked around properly. A few eyes were on him of course, but for the most part, this area of the city appeared totally unaffected. Trams were still running, a gondola ran overhead, and groups of Pokémon filled the streets in crowded lines. It was dark out, but the city lights stopped any kind of night time feel.

“Quickly now,” he said, hopping out to help everyone up. Infia had to fall on all fours to catch her breath. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m… fine. Running like that… just tires me,” she said, clutching her chest. She forced herself to stand, but droplets fell from her head. “I can get through this. I have to.”

“Please don’t kill yourself over this,” Esther said.

“Don’t worry about me!” she raised her voice.

Before they could argue, Phoenix grunted in alarm, tensing up and stretching his feet apart. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a Swellow perched high up on one of the skyscrapers beside them. A few blocks away, a Heracross was waiting as well, and both Pokémon had binoculars and attacks held out the ready. He gritted his fangs at them, and then locked his sight on their destination.

“They’re trying not to cause a panic, so we’re being watched. This way, quickly,” he ordered, sprinting away again. Infia let out a moan of a breath, to which Sophitia tried to lift her up to carry her. The Minun declined however, and was first to follow Phoenix.

“Are we really being watched? I can’t see anyone,” Lute said, tripping up a few steps. This gondola station was a little different to the one he knew, being far smaller and completely devoid of the public. He realised that Phoenix had torn through a metal barrier to get in, but only after he ran passed and glanced back to look at it. “Wait a minute—”

“Above us!” Phoenix shouted. All eyes glanced upward, and then their cries rang out as they all dove away from a Galvantula that detached itself from the ceiling.

“So the callout _was_ true. There are runaways from the agents,” she said, shaking her many feet. As she did so, electricity crackled from their tips, and the group were thrown back into a panic.

“Esther!” Phoenix shouted. She gasped and dove in his way, just about in position to soak up the volts released by the Galvantula’s attack. The spider Pokémon stopped after a while, surprised to see them unharmed.

“You have Lightning Rod?” she cried. Esther responded with a growl and then a Quick Attack, bashing right into the Galvantula’s face.

“Lute, Infia, get that gondola running, now! We’ll keep this one busy. If you take too long, we’ll get ambushed,” Phoenix shouted, charging after Galvantula. The potential type advantage didn’t scare it at all. It brushed off Esther’s attack and crawled over the walls to dodge Phoenix’s attack by a mile, and then attempted to slather him in sticky web. Sophitia drew her sword and tried to cut into it, but still found herself getting tangled by it.

“R-right,” Lute gasped, heavily distracted by the battle.

A quick glance around and he found the gondola carriage, but it was eerily dark and covered in rust. There were only two of them parked side by side, and both had their paint wearing off and aged police tape over the doors. The one on the right side of the platform wasn’t completely shut, and a quick check proved his paws could fit between the doors.

“Phoenix told us to do this, but I don’t actually know how to work a gondola,” he said, jamming his paws in between the doors. Infia soon joined him, and the duo growled in their effort to force them open. She didn’t answer him, concentrating. There was a little budge right away, but it still took a full breaths worth of effort before they were open, and the two fell forward inside, dust and dirt exploding around their fall.

“Argh, it’s so old,” he said, coughing.

The whole carriage was like this, covered from top to bottom in dust and dirt from a clear lack of use. Unlike the gondolas he had been using up until now, this one was a little different in that it had a control panel that looked like the computer screens in the King’s Shield base, only they were lined with buttons, levers, and dials instead of a screen. He had to climb up to reach it, and dusted it all off to read any of the text on there.

“Can you figure it out?” Infia said.

“Hardly! I don’t know the first thing about handling a gondola. It’s just obvious that this controls it,” he said, hesitant on touching anything. Then he remembered the one thing that all gondolas had that lit them up and let them move: the Klefki. He glanced up at the ceiling, and could just about make out the empty key slot. “Infia, up there. If we can jolt that up, we could turn it on.”

She walked over, staring up at it with concentration on her face. She rubbed her cheeks to bring up some sparks, and then rubbed her paws to turn it into a Thundershock, and then launched it at the key slot.

“What’re you doing?”

“I dunno. I thought it might work. Can’t we just force it somehow?” she said.

“Not without getting something in there,” he said.

She frowned, walking over to the control panel he was stood on top of. Whatever she saw there, she used Thundershock again, making her attack stronger after a while. It soon began to send volts all along the panel, shocking Lute and forcing him off.

“I don’t think that’s doing anything,” he cried, shaking behind her. She kept going however, causing electricity to spread throughout the whole carriage. “Infia!”

Just when he was about to tackle her, a light bulb came on and the sound of an engine started. The floor vibrated lightly and the controls lit up with blinking LEDs of various colours, most of which were red. Infia kept shocking it all until she wore herself out, and fell onto one paw.

“How did you… Infia, did you know this would happen?” he said, gawking at it all. He didn’t realise how worn out she was however, and had to help her up. She still had to take a minute or so to catch her breath, stuck clutching her chest.

“You… need to… read more… comics,” she said. He didn’t understand what she meant, but nodded anyway, rushing back out onto the platform.

“Hey guys, it’s up and running!” he shouted.

Their battle had gotten fiercer than he expected. That Galvantula was proving itself a worthy agent even though its electric attacks were getting soaked up by Esther. It crawled over the room so fast that it was blurry, jumping from wall to wall with its many legs bared and pointed with energy. It latched itself to Sophitia’s shield and slashed her before she could escape, and then it was off again to avoid Phoenix’s Flamethrower.

“They’re ready, go!” Esther shouted, first to run away. Sophitia cringed from damage and was last to rush after them, stuck holding her side with a feeler.

“No you don’t! You’re not getting out of the city, traitors!” Galvantula shouted.

“Traitors? For trying to stop them from cutting my eyes and ears off?” Esther complained, throwing an Electro Ball just before jumping on the carriage. Phoenix and Infia strained to pull the doors shut, while Lute was back on the controls, pushing the biggest lever with all his might. Thankfully he was right on the money and the gondola began to move ahead, taking off at a steady speed.

“We did it? We did it, we’re actually moving!” Lute gasped, laughing with excitement. He jumped at the sound of a loud thump, and freaked out upon turning around. Galvantula wasn’t done yet, and had latched herself to the side of the carriage with an electrified web.

“Holy moly, you don’t go down easy, do you?” Sophitia cried.

Everyone held their attacks at the ready, expecting the Galvantula to be blown off when the gondola ascended and sped up. But she didn’t, latched on tight with all of her feet. Her front two crackled with energy, and then smashed the back window to let her slip inside. But in her haste, she didn’t make a hole big enough and only able to get her head and a few of her legs safely through. Her six eyes glowed in frustration, twitching with irritation.

“Now now now, just shoot it!” Sophitia cried, releasing a Moonblast.

Even that attack didn’t knock Galvantula away, but the Swift, Electro Ball, and Flamethrower attacks that came afterward had her growling and struggling. Phoenix kept his attack going until she started crying out, where she finally let go and was sent sailing into the air. All that was left was the chilling sound of a slipstream striking the damaged window, but it still took the group a while to calm down.

“Is it finally over?” Esther whined, falling straight back. “She’s not gonna crawl back on a spider web, is she? I’ve done that plot on a horror show before. It’s _not_ nice to deal with.”

“It’s… I think we’re good. Now we’re just praying we’re on the right gondola,” Sophitia said, catching her breath. Lute beamed up.

“Wait, can we be going in the wrong direction? There were only two gondolas,” he cried.

“Calm down. This station only has two, for two trips. One for returns and one for arrivals,” Phoenix said, settling down. “I do not know how long this will take. We should rest while we can.”

“You’ve been kinda fiery about this, too. You and Infia. You two really like Esther, don’t you?” Sophitia said. Infia didn’t reply, while Phoenix kept his eyes shut for a moment.

“Esther is an important friend. That is the way I see it. Besides, I do not recall ever being relieved of being her bodyguard,” he said.

“Aww, you two. I love you two, you know that?” she said, squeezing herself. She started to moan a little, and after a moment, tears started to appear in her eyes. The others looked at her in concern. “S-sorry. I shouldn’t be crying. Now’s not the time to start.”

“Are you okay?” Lute said.

“Su-seriously. Why? Do you guys realise what you’ve done? You’re really sticking it out for me right now, you know.”

“It’s because you’ve done a lot for us, too. You would do the same for me too, wouldn’t you?” Infia said.

“Well yeah… but damn, this is crazy, y’know? We’re talking like, those guys are gonna hunt you down like they do Kuri, now. We’re breaking the law and we’re fighting our own allies and… just for me? And all I really did for it was push you around and stuff,” she said, wiping her eyes. The tears wouldn’t stop coming.

“I was really mad about it at first, but it’s all fate, isn’t it? If it wasn’t for you finding Naivie and being just like the rest of us, we wouldn’t be where we are,” Lute said. She went straight faced. “We’re not giving up on anyone, not when we’re this close to the goal post. Even Kuri came looking out for us. We’re not going to lose either of you.”

“No no, you’re right. You could be at home, eating good food right now, all set and planning to travel properly if you just listened to the agents.”

“But then that wouldn’t be very heroic now, would it? Letting a friend get hurt when she doesn’t deserve to. It doesn’t matter who it is, if they’re wrong, they have to answer to it,” he said. She started shaking again.

“Ugh, stop it! _You’re_ not supposed to be saying stuff like that! You’re supposed to still be being a big dick… You’re not supposed to like me at all anymore,” she said, tearing up.

“We’ll get through this together, alright? So you stop that. We’re headed towards the last temple, so if we can figure out how to get in there, we’ll put Aseria in a point where they can’t stop us,” Sophitia said.

“Guys,” Esther whimpered, turning away. She turned into Infia, who was smiling up at her. “You guys… sorry… I dunno what the heck to say. Just, you’re real friends, y’know? I’ve never had real friends before. So I guess… I… I can really count on you guys, huh?”

“It felt like you already knew that. We’re all the heroes, so I kinda assumed,” Sophitia said, surprised. After blinking a few more times, Esther cuddled Infia, nuzzling herself into the Minun’s chest.

“I didn’t. I truly didn’t feel it at all. But I guess you’re right, this is why you’re all heroes, too. Because I really can count on you.”

Lute and the others smiled at the two girls, even Phoenix. He still didn’t consider himself to have made it up to her, but looking at them now, maybe he didn’t need to. Just like the way Sophitia was coming out with new fairy attacks every now and then, Esther and Infia were coming out with new moves and actions, too. They were growing together in a way that he knew he couldn’t provide or keep up with, and all he had to do was be there for them when they needed him.

He turned away and looked out the window at the dull, night scenery. Nothing but dark ocean below, blurry fog in the distance, and stale clouds above. When put into this perspective, doing what he felt he was best at didn’t seem like such a bad idea. In fact, he liked the idea. The idea of being counted on by fellow Pokémon who cared about him to this extreme, he was happy to go to the very same extreme for them. His attention was brought back when he heard a low, loud rumble, and Infia broke away from the hug with a face redder than a tamato berry. Esther started giggling at her.

“S-sorry… I’m starving,” she admitted.

“Me too, not that you mention it. We didn’t really get to eat anything since that big dinner at Obire. I was getting so tense I didn’t even notice,” Sophitia said, scratching her face with a feeler. “We’ll have to bear it for a little while, though. Let’s hope there’s something on Reis Island.”

“_Guess my powers are still working. I don’t feel hungry at all,_” Lute thought to himself, turning away again. “_The rusted controls on the gondola weren’t too much trouble, either. I wish this V Pocket thing would make up its mind._”

…

About half an hour later, Pokétopia had become a distant blur of show lights and sparkles, while their destination became clear enough to have details made out. Everyone had fallen to quiet and rested however they could during this time, leaning on one another while Phoenix gazed out the window the whole time. The crack in the back window made things cold and with an annoying howl of wind the whole time, but it didn’t stop them from being able to sleep.

Reis island wasn’t nearly what they were expecting, though. The land was broken up with giant cracks splitting up the land all over. The sea ran deep between all those cracks, comparable to an archipelago if not for how close the lands were. There weren’t any landmarks to be seen – no forests, towns, not even beaches. It looked like a place of totally uninhabitable, mountainous wilderness.

“There are Pokémon on the island!” Phoenix shouted. “Agents! How did they get there before us?”

“Wait, are you serious?” Sophitia gasped.

“I can see it. There are groups waiting in ambush,” he said.

“They must have used a Deposit Box,” Lute said, blinking in disbelief. “This is going to be tough.”

Sophitia wasn’t having that, however. She shook her head in a daze, keeping her eyes on the island. Glancing up at the ceiling, and then the distant sea below, she hatched her plan in a flash. It was going to be risky, but it was far less so than attempting to fight an ambush of King’s Shield agents.

“Er, is it too soon to joke and say you’re sure you don’t wanna just give me up?” Esther said. She noticed Sophitia forming her sword, and leaned away. “Whoa calm it, we’re not there for another ten minutes or something, right?”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re not fighting an unwinnable battle!” Sophitia cried, whipping her sword hard against the ceiling. Everyone cringed as sparks flew and the light went out, as well as the whole gondola shaking with force. She ignored their squeaks and slashed at the ceiling again, and again, each time cleaving deeper and deeper into the aged metal. Eventually she cut right through and tore the wire that had been holding them up, sending the whole gondola tumbling toward the sea.

“Sophitia!” Lute roared while the others screamed. No one was prepared for what she had done, tripping and bashing against the sides of the carriage as it flipped downward. It smashed into the sea with a deafening crash, sinking right down, where it finally stopped flipping and levelled out.

Not that that gave them a chance to get a hold of the situation. The windows cracked and chipped on impact, while seawater shot in through the already broken window. There was a moment long enough for everyone to gather together towards the roof, but even then, they were all scrambling together to keep their heads out of the water, Infia being the unlucky one that had her head pushed down the most. Soon enough and the whole gondola was drowned, panic ensuing as the door would not open.

Surrounded by painfully chilly water, the dark surroundings of the middle of the sea, and the muffled sounds of a slow, bubbling current, Lute’s instincts shot up to crisis in an instant. He was holding his breath like everyone else, but if they felt anything like he did now, they had a dangerously short time left. His heart raced and his face scrunched as he resisted the urge to breathe even though water forced its way up his nose, trying to get him to snort or curse. He heaved and moaned, and then forced his eyes open to find a real solution. The doors weren’t opening, Esther and Infia’s desperate attempts to pull it open proved that. So he aimed for the cracked window, and brought up his psychic attack instead.

His little explosion of force broke all the windows at once, in turn sending everyone slowly flipping through the water. It didn’t matter, though. Now that they were out, he scrambled over to Sophitia and hugged her front, kicking himself towards the surface. He could barely even see it, and it looked to be further away than he expected it to be, really testing his limits. But he held on, even as his face scrunched again, chest heaving and body tightening in its need for air. Sophitia’s scrambling legs only told of how bad she was, but he tried not to think about that.

They breached the surface before they realised, coughing and gasping for dear life. Phoenix and Esther were next, and had done the same, hugging each other in their efforts to swim up. The whole group splashed about wildly.

“Infia? Where’s Infia?” Lute cried, only to have her pop up a moment later. She looked miserable and worn out, and kept splashing as she barely stayed afloat. Lute swam over to help her, calming her right down.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he said repeatedly until she stopped thrashing and clutched him like a float. He could barely keep them both afloat however, and knowing how deep the sea was didn’t help.

“Sophitia, what the hell were you thinking? What’re we gonna do?” Esther screamed.

“It’s okay, I can swim. Take care of yourself,” Phoenix said, detaching from her.

“Okay, how? Actually, no. Never mind, don’t answer that. But _how_ are we supposed to get outta this?” Esther cried.

“It was either this or trying to fight an ambush. I picked my poison!” she said.

“You could’ve at least warned us before going through with it! I almost drowned,” Esther said.

“Girls, stop it, this isn’t the time for this. Look,” Lute said, face Reis Island. It was a death-defying swim away still, but it was the closest land they could reach. “It’s our only choice. Don’t complain, save your energy and let’s go.”

“Wait a minute, we’re not washing out to sea,” Infia said.

“We can’t. If there’s no wind, there’s no current. Not even in the sea,” Lute said, kicking himself off. Everyone followed, despite the daunting distance.


	28. Temple of the North

Lute couldn’t stop breathing aloud. His breaths weren’t hoarse or weak, but they were deep and exaggerated. In fact, it was all he could do. His body felt heavier than a slab of cement, sprawled out and lifeless on the cold, wet rocks of the surface of Reis Island. His friends were all around him and were no better, dropped to zero energy from their desperate swim to the island.

Fortunately for them, the island’s mountainous layout and endless valleys provided the perfect coverage for where they washed up. There were in fact King’s Shield agents on the island, but they were stationed in the safest spots perfect for an ambush, while Lute’s team were not.

“Hey, I know you guys are kinda dying and all that, but they did see the gondola crash and stuff. You’re not gonna be able to sleep here forever,” Naivie said, fluttering over them. They barely moved. “Don’t make me sell you kids out. C’mon, rise and shine babies! World saving awaits.”

“Naivie c’mon, just stop,” Esther grumbled, turning away.

Naivie started prodding her. “If you sit there, there’ll eventually find you. And then all this struggling will be for nothing. C’mon, you’ve gotta move!”

“She has a point, obnoxiously,” Phoenix said, getting up. One look at him made them feel even more tired. Somehow, he looked the same as he always did, brimming with energy but unbothered and plain. They hung their heads as they forced themselves to their feet, but even after a few minutes, they were still leaning on walls and breathing weakly.

“This is the worst way to do an exploration. And we still have to go back under to get to the temple, right?” Sophitia said. “Man, I’ve really put us in it this time.”

“I actually did a little tour of the island while you lot were out. You should be able to handle it,” Naivie said. “All up? Alright then, follow me carefully. I’ll lead you guys the shortest way there. But there are groups of police and agents stationed all over the place, so stay outta their sight and try to be quiet.”

“Stealth? I never thought I’d be happy about avoidin’ fights. Just gotta keep my stomach quiet,” Esther said.

“They’re stationed all over the island? Seriously? How many Pokémon did they get to come after us?” Lute said.

“I think they’re pretty serious about the whole temple thing. After all, Lassic loses if you guys get there,” Naivie said. Everyone was stood up now. “Breathe through your noses and keep quiet, okay? Now follow me.”

“We’ll go one at a time. Lute and Infia, you’re the smallest, so you first,” Sophitia said. The Minun was still slumped forward and pale from fatigue however, so Lute pushed her so that she was sat on his back.

“Wa-wait, stop I don’t—”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” he said, looking up at her. “Try to rest and recover as much as you can.”

“But I… I hate this,” she said, scrunching up.

“I know how you feel, but this isn’t about being weak or strong right now. You’ve done your best. Now let me do what I do best,” he said.

“One thing at a time,” Esther said. Infia gave in after that, leaning forward to squeeze herself into the Eevee and shrink their figure.

Now that he was up and looking around, Naivie began her move, floating ahead on a path to their right. He never actually noticed how funny she looked when moving, bobbing up and down like fish Pokémon. Even though she fluttered through a cave path, the ground was rough and there was tiny debris everywhere that he kept accidentally kicking. He froze every time, expecting a spy to detect him out of nowhere or something.

Fortunately for him, Naivie stopped every now and then to account for the stationed agents, so none of them actually heard him. There were clearings amongst the valleys and hills, and each one had various tough Pokémon hiding on the hills or on the ceilings of caves nearby. The terrain was confusing as a result; Lute felt as though he was constantly walking on a slant or very close to one of the rivers that ran through the cracks, instead of being on a coherent path. The walls and floor were black, dusty, and seemed to rotate all around him wherever he went, changing angles and sometimes even rotating above him. It was claustrophobic enough to make him hold his breath, even though he turned out to be well away from water all the time.

Breathing through his nose barely helped, either. Dung had a better smell than this place, its taste fluctuating between something burnt and irritatingly toxic. Combined with the darkness of the night hiding most of the area in silhouette, and he felt nauseous every time he pricked his foot on a piece of metal or scraped himself on a loose brick or something. But the next thing he knew, Naivie’s route actually took them to something resembling the end of a path, usually an area open enough to have flat ground and a Pokémon or two pacing around it. She stopped at this next one, forcing the group to remain hidden behind a short wall.

“Wait. There are some guys here,” Naivie whispered.

He gulped. He couldn’t sense other Pokémon the way Sophitia and the others could. All he could do was take Naivie’s word for it, sweating hard as he remained as rigidly still as he could. Now that he wasn’t moving, the stench was becoming overbearing, and the ground felt too hard. If he had to do this for too long, he could see himself going insane and suddenly breaking into backflips or something. He tried to stay focused though, mouth shut, eyes concentrating on Naivie. Infia shuffling on him reminded him that she was even there.

“It’s no use. We’ll have to take the water,” Naivie whispered. Lute’s eyes widened, and he looked around. A little way down to his left was a very thin river that led in the direction he assumed they were going.

“Seriously?” he whispered; an eyebrow raised.

“They ain’t movin’. And be careful, don’t make a splash,” she replied, leading the way down. He hung his head, having to turn his back to crawl down the cliff carefully.

That claustrophobia was settling in big time, now. This part was far thinner than he thought from what he could see. He couldn’t walk straight without scratching his fur against the walls to his side, and some parts were so jagged and sharp that he would have to slow down to squeeze his way through. Just looking at it made him feel like the walls might close in and crush him, and to that he gulped and moaned a bit.

The worst part was the enforced dive yet again. Even though the area ran this thin, the walls were slanted at such an angle that the clearing where the stationed Pokémon were was in full view, or at least, he could imagine it so from their height. He could make out a Gliscor from where he was too, a Pokémon known for its impressive senses, so he couldn’t underestimate that thought. He stared at the water below him once more and frowned. Great. Another long dive. He and Infia took a deep and exaggerated breath, and snuck into the water.

With all this, the water felt a lot colder and more unbearable than before. It was freezing cold, dark, and murky, obscuring his view of everything ahead via cloudy puffs of dust and dirt from everything he touched. He felt Infia cringe and squeeze him harder, as well as whoever was behind him pushing him a bit whenever he stopped due to the path growing thinner. And after just a minute without air, he felt his body tightening from its need to surface, but at his speed, he knew he couldn’t give in to that. This was the worst thing he ever had to do in his life.

At this point, he wanted his powers to activate and to let him stay underwater for longer or something, but that wasn’t happening for some reason. As he shuffled along this tight waterway, his chest started to pang and his view was darkening. He didn’t even know if he was following Naivie anymore, or if the others were behind him. He just kept going as far as he could, holding his breath and bearing the irritating strain of it all. Some moments later, he couldn’t take anymore. Keeping his mouth shut and trying not to breathe literally hurt his whole body, so he gave up and scrambled upwards.

Both Lute and Infia gasped aloud when they were free, Lute not realising just how out of breath he had actually let himself get. His chest stung when he began to breathe again, almost as if his lungs had contracted and were filling back to normal size. His view was still blurry and everything around him sounded muffled and unfocused. He absolutely had to stay still and recover his strength from how weak he was. He sounded like he was whining, too.

“Er, are you guys okay?” Naivie asked after a minute. She didn’t whisper, which got Lute’s attention.

“Just, give us a minute, please,” he huffed dryly.

“Geez dude. You and Sophitia really like makin’ me work hard, don’t you?” Esther said, pinching him as she shuffled her way past him. She looked just as drained, still catching her breath.

“Wait, Esther—”

“What? I’m gonna go and wring out my clothes before I get waterlogged or something. Infia, you coming?” she said.

Lute tilted his head, and then realised where he was. He had been under and gone way further than he anticipated. The terrain wasn’t too different from before, but there was a mountain behind them and great clearing to their left. To the right was more valley where the water continued, but all of it was far steeper and nastier to traverse.

“You guys made it. Not far to the temple, now,” Naivie said.

“Wait, but you said – wasn’t that—” Lute cut himself off, looking back and forth. The underwater path they had just braved had a roof over it, and his eyes widened. If he hadn’t lasted long enough, he could have actually drowned everyone back there. No wonder Infia didn’t say anything.

“Dare I say it? It looks like the agents haven’t come this far out, either,” Sophitia said, admiring the area. She shook herself off, irked by the splotches of dirt and mud stuck to her.

“This part of Reis Island is only accessible via the underwater road. I mean yeah, you guys had to go under way earlier than I planned, but you lasted anyway, right? You’re all alive, no trouble,” Naivie said.

“Your lack of concern sometimes is truly going to get back to you someday,” Phoenix said, shaking himself dry as well. “What was with the water there? It wasn’t seawater.”

“Yeah. It’s ruined my clothes,” Infia said, tugging at her shirt. She looked like he hadn’t washed it in weeks, all her pink drained out and matted with splotches of brown and black. Lute twisted to look at himself, realising he was just as bad.

“And it still stinks, too. Maybe this is why no gondolas go to this island. It’s just a wasteland,” he said, trying to get to higher ground to look around some more. He tripped on even more debris on his way up, although this was a lot more annoying and painful to hit. His foot actually got stuck in something, making him kick and growl. It was a can of something. “Wait a minute, that was?”

He stared at the ground more closely, focusing his eyes as much as he could. All the unevenness started to make sense here. There were cans. Wrappers. Scraps of things, like what looked like food or materials.

He dared to look back at the mountain he had swam under. It had the same thing – the very mountain was made entirely out of decomposed litter of all kinds, from item packaging to wasted food, dung, and everything else one would casually throw away. All of it was so old and far removed that it had gone black and brown, stuck to each other and creating this painful terrain. Naturally, that meant the river was borderline toxic, a myriad of putrid colours pasting into the natural seawater colour.

“Is this a landfill?” Sophitia gasped, speaking for him.

“A landfill?” Naivie said, floating over to her.

“It’s a place where people get rid of waste by like, burying it into the ground. But it’s not a sustainable method of getting rid of mass waste at all,” She said, staring at it all in concern. “Wait a minute, now that I think about it, how do you Pokémon get rid of all your waste material?”

“The same way anyone else deals with it? You put it in a litterbox and let the trash collectors take it,” Esther said. “Or a restroom. Just normal stuff.”

“Yeah, but where does it all go after that?” Sophitia asked. Esther raised a finger, then lowered it. No one else answered. “Have they been dumping all of Aseria’s rubbish here?”

“That’s… really disturbing. What do they do when the island is full?” Infia asked.

“Better question, what happens to the island when it’s got shit in it rather than natural soil?” Sophitia raised her voice. “They chose a place where a temple was to do this? How can you have that little respect for anything?”

“Hey, this is all the more reason to get on with it, right? That’s enough of a break. Let’s get to the temple before they find out we’re here,” Naivie said.

“You are questionably unbothered by this,” Lute said.

“Well yeah, because the moment you guys are done, the problem gets resolved. They probably thought they could ruin this precious island by using it as their dumping ground for the entirety of Aseria’s waste,” Naivie said, floating up high to look at the scenery. “It was always a place of dilapidated mountains and valleys and stuff. The Pokémon that lived here kinda basked in the guardian and the flower’s blessings and never worked. But they never let it get to _this_ state.”

“Oh Naivie,” Esther said. The tiny Carbink spun around them, and then stopped before them all.

“Hey. I know you’re all having doubts because of everything that’s happened. But I’m sure we’re all going to get through this. To even your doubts, let me tell you that you don’t need to hesitate on growing the flower,” she said.

Lute hung his head. “If we do that, V-Wave technology stops working, doesn’t it?”

Naivie shook. “It does. However, this will only happen when the flowers bloom. I get to decide when they actually bloom, so even if you grow all four, the whole world won’t suddenly be in crisis or anything.”

“It won’t?” Sophitia said, widening her eyes.

“Having the flowers ready to bloom puts us in the advantage. After you grow them, I’ll wait for you guys to tell everyone,” she said. “Tell the world to stop relying on Lassic’s technology. Come up with new solutions to those that have to rely on it. I know you guys can change the whole world. And when you give me the go ahead, I can restore the seasons.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us this in the first place?” Sophitia cried.

“And lastly, for you, Lute and Infia. You guys won’t actually die when the flowers bloom, either,” she said. Now everyone’s eyes were wide.

“Wait, they were going to die?” Sophitia said even louder.

“I told them they would. I expected them to back off from the whole thing. Yet here you both are, still trying your hardest despite it,” Naivie said, looking happy. “V-Waves will still be around, so you guys will be just fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Are you for real? Why would do something like that?” Sophitia cried, pulling Lute over. He was about to snap at her until he realised how desperate she looked.

“This was when I wasn’t feeling right. It’s fine now, though,” he said, trying to look away.

“No it’s not. If you died, what would the rest of us have to do about it? You as well, Infia. You both have so much to live for, you shouldn’t—”

“Hey clam up already. Can’t you tell I was spreading good vibes here?” Naivie said, bonking her on the nose. “That the lot of you would sacrifice your very lives for the sake of this planet is just another of the reasons you all are heroes. But as the guide, I have to put that theory into true practice, you know? So yeah, I said and did some really questionable stuff in the past. But so did you. And now, here we are! Minutes away from the last temple. Minutes away from saving the world.”

“Ugh, I can never understand you. I dunno whether you’re just saying stuff like this to get on our good books or what,” Sophitia said, turning away. “Well, whatever you think, know that I did all this because of what _I_ think of Aseria, and for Lute. If it was just for you, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“Hey, at the end of the day, I am just a tiny ‘bink. I do what I have to do and I do it as long as it’s right,” she said. “Okay, that’s enough mushy stuff from me. You girls done yet?”

“Huh?” Lute said. It took him a moment to realise the change in tone.

“Yeah the girls went to wring out their clothes, but there was no cover so I had to stop you from peeking for a little while,” Naivie said. Lute flinched and spun around in confusion, and surely enough, Esther and Infia were behind them. Esther was damp and had discarded her ribbon, while Infia was miserable, having discarded her shirt altogether.

“It’s ruined. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said, holding her skirt down. “My whole costume needs changing.”

“This is your fault you know, Sophitia. You didn’t think about her at all when you dumped us into ocean!” Esther said. All eyes turned to the Sylveon, who slapped her forehead with a feeler.

“Are we really gonna drill me for this? Like I said, it was either an unwinnable ambush, or we swim here. I made my choice.”

“_You_ made _your_ choice. And ruined our clothes in the process,” Esther said.

“Wait a minute, this is rich coming from the girl who plays in the mud like a pig!”

“But I don’t drag everybody with me and ruin their stuff!”

“Yes you do! Remember that time with the Risen?”

“I was playing with you! And I didn’t go and ruin your clothes or anything.”

“You stained my shiny coat! I couldn’t get that mud out for weeks!”

Lute groaned as he watched them bicker. He was too hungry for this. Naivie didn’t say anything for a while, so he nudged her. “Are we still heroes if we argue about clothes?”

“Don’t ask me, ask yourselves that! I don’t get why any of you wear clothes at all. Except Infia, for obvious reasons,” she said, eyes shut. He groaned and slumped forward.

“Esther, it’s okay. I just have to bear it right now, right?” Infia said, tugging at the Pikachu. “J-just… sorry, I look ridiculous. It’s really embarrassing.”

“But this is serious! It’s total self-esteem territory. You’re just an ordinary Minun now, there’s nothing embarrassing about that,” Esther said.

“I can’t let stuff like this bother me, though. I-I have no choice. Ah, let’s just go already. The longer we take, the more embarrassing this gets,” she said, getting pouty.

“That’s the spirit! Nothing else holding us up. Keep following me,” Naivie said, fluttering away. Sophitia gave in with a shrug and a shake of her head, leading the way.

“You sure you’re okay?” Lute said.

“Please go in front. I want to be at the back,” Infia said, still holding her skirt down. Her look made him nervous, but he obeyed anyway. Seeing Infia without a top on for once, he never realised how pale her face was in comparison to the rest of her. Despite them all having gone through that putrid river, her fur coat was smooth and clean, shiny even. Her figure was healthy, if a little round. But he did agree that she looked a little silly, her small body offset by the large and long skirt she wore. It normally hid that bulky underwear of hers, but with that gone and no shirt to hide her natural shape, it just looked inconvenient. It was hilarious, but deep down he also thought it was adorable.

He had to shake off a giggle there, which earnt him a funny look from Phoenix. Now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that.

Naivie directed the group across the open clearing to their left, which wasn’t as vast as it initially appeared. The further on they went, the smoother the ground became, going from decomposed litter to a strange, dry field of dark brown grass and crusty soil. She continued onwards to a wide cave, to which the group slowed down upon entry.

Inside was warmly lit up by magical glowing orbs on top of candles, each one giving the area a fiery glow. The cave was spacious but empty of detail, besides the altar at the far end. The altar was familiar with the markings on the floor and the tiny spot of soil in the centre.

“It’s here. This is actually it,” Lute said, jaw dropped. Everyone scattered in expectation of a trap or something, but nothing of the kind triggered. The temple really was in the middle of this barren cave.

“Well, what’re you waiting for? Let’s get that flower grown!” Naivie said, floating over the middle. Everyone was quiet. “What? Did a ghost just pop up behind me or something?”

“No it’s just… I should be thankful because I’m starving to death here, but it’s almost disappointing. No Evoli, no King’s Shield agents, no Spirle… just, we made it.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Esther,” Naivie said, half-lidded.

“Yeah, you’re right. If we really had to fight somebody, it’d probably push us to our limits,” she said, taking position. “When we’re done with this, can we _please_ sort out the food situation? And our clothes, too?”

“It’s a priority,” Sophitia said, slumping forward as her stomach growled.

“This is the last time, so the last reminder of what to do. Pray for what you want out of the world, and the flower will grow in your view. But you absolutely mustn’t stop praying until I tell you to, no matter what happens, okay?” Naivie said as they all took position. “This is the last time, so things can still fail.”

“And you’re absolutely certain? The V-Waves won’t just suddenly stop working? Lute and Infia will be alright?” Sophitia said.

“Positive. There will be little difference to Aseria until I make the flowers bloom. I’ll wait until you guys give me the go ahead before I do that. Don’t you trust me?” Naivie said.

Sophitia didn’t answer that. She just put her feelers together and bowed her head. The others did the same, praying in their spots to initiate the ritual. Just like all the other times, the markings below them glowed with magical turquoise light that flared around them. The light seeped through the markings on the floor to light up the whole area, and then erupted around Naivie and shrouded her in flames. She groaned and growled from it all, sounding like she was in agony.

They wanted to say they were used to it, but it still hurt to hear. And something else they were used to, the light strain that took away their consciousness was still present, too. Even with their eyes closed, white soon replaced their vision, and they drifted off into the dream of Sophitia’s memory.

…

“_Thank you for answering those questions so sincerely. It seems that I was correct when I believed that you would be someone special who could help us,_” Diancie said.

However, Diancie couldn’t be seen, only heard. There didn’t seem to be anyone here. Just a pattern of waving greens, blues, and whites. It was a peaceful void, disrupted only by the form of a silhouette in the centre.

“_You appear to be… the proud, heroic type. You aspire to be something special on your own, someone who stands up for themselves and everyone else, no matter who they may be,_” Diancie said. “_You are talented, resourceful, and always speak your mind. Everyone else looks up you and isn’t afraid to ask for help. Someone like you is the perfect leader, selfless and always the first to outdo themselves no matter the problem. You seem perfect, don’t you?_”

There was a long pause, and the silhouette began to form into the shape of an Eevee.

“_But you still have much to learn, and may struggle to admit when you may be wrong. Your haste and pride in helping others may lead you into situations that you simply cannot deal with,_” Diancie said, her tone changing. “_In your overwhelming care for others, you lack an important self-love, too. You don’t view your personal problems or faults as things others should have to deal with. As a result, you are pretty lonely, despite all the praise from others. When searching for fulfilment in your own life, you may never find it, and remain forever lost. But don’t fret. Your belief in what makes you happy will keep you going, no matter how dark those feelings become._”

There was another pause, and the silhouette morphed again, forming into the shape of a Sylveon. It coloured in as well, revealing its shiny fur coat of blue fur. It had a lot of excess blue fur too, so much that it hung down the sides of its face.

“_Someone like you is best as an Eevee, but due to circumstances, I have evolved you straight into a Sylveon,_” Diancie said. Sylveon stepped forward, admiring itself in a reflective puddle. It was shaky with its movements however, nearly tripping itself up in those few steps.

“_This is me? A Sylveon,_” she said. She admired herself and her feelers, weirded out by it all. “_I’m on four feet. And I have those weird hands. This is going to take long to get used to, you know._”

“_It will. But I’m afraid things are progressing very quickly. Your training will have to begin from now,_” Diancie said, bouncing her way in front of the Sylveon. “_Sophitia. This is something very special, though. You’re going to be extraordinary. An experience. Pokémon are going to love you. And with that will come the ultimate attack we need you to learn during this training: Return._”

“_Return? Don’t skip too far ahead. I-I feel like I’m gonna fall over,_” Sophitia said, looking down at her wobbling legs. “_So if I learn that attack, I can take on any enemy? And deal with why we’re doing this in the first place._”

…

Lute flashed awake very suddenly. He regained consciousness even though his eyes were shut, and groaned as he got up. He felt like he’d been asleep for a while, but immediately checked for the Ancient Flower.

There it was, right behind him. A giant flower with roots so large they covered the floor markings, and a Shaymin at the foot of it, sleeping soundly. He stared at it for a minute, and then started to laugh lightly just as the others groaned and got up.

“We did it. We actually did it. We did it, we did it!” he cheered, raising his paws as he turned around. He immediately froze, his smile turning upside-down. Staring at him in surprise was Silver.

No one said anything for a few moments. The Goodra quickly composed herself, her hands curling up and face becoming furious. Lute could’ve sword the slime on her body become wetter as well, shining and flowing in the dim light.

“This is it, isn’t it? The Ancient Flowers your group have been cultivating in order to destroy Aseria’s technology,” she said.

“Destroy it? We’re not trying to destroy it. That’s… not what these flowers are for,” Sophitia said, glancing back and forth between them both.

“Great. Just when I thought we’d have an easy time from here on,” Esther said.

“Perhaps not exactly. But we know the legend. V-Waves get reserved for distribution via these flowers. They’ll stop most of Aseria’s machines from working,” Silver said. “This is the last one? You’ve grown all of them?”

“We did. We did it because we had to,” Infia said. “If we didn’t, the weather wouldn’t return. Now it can.”

“There’s little point in trying to argue with you at this point, is there? Now that things are this far, I’ve got no choice but to take action against you,” Silver said. “You threaten the stability of the entirety of Aserian civilization. Don’t you understand that? If you break our technology, the world falls to a standstill. We won’t even be able to get off this island!”

Yes we will. Gondolas will stop working, but Pokémon won’t. We can use a sailing ship, or a Pokémon can ferry us across the sky or water,” Phoenix said.

“Don’t try to get technical and smart with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about!” she raised her voice.

“What he’s saying is that there are solutions to everything. Solutions that don’t forfeit the natural world. If Pokémon continue on the way they are, then Aseria will be destroyed,” Sophitia said, stepping forward. “We’ll be resetting our society back by many generations, yes, but that is what it takes to keep us safe!”

“Don’t talk to me about finding solutions when you yourselves aren’t finding more suitable solutions to your own problems. Do you know how many Pokémon will suffer as a result of your actions?” Silver said, sounding unexpectedly anxious. “Don’t you trust Lassic? His guidance and beliefs are what made King’s Shield what it is today. And King Shield’s aim is to protect the world. Protect Pokémon from dangers they don’t even know about. Aseria’s history isn’t what you think it is!”

“But if we carry on the way we are, the whole world will die. The lack of weather,” Lute said, looking down. He couldn’t find his words all of a sudden. Why was Silver this desperate?

“Our job was just to help Pokémon. Lassic and our teams were always searching for ways to help that. This legend isn’t a solution!”

“Then how? Since you seem to know so much, tell us why it isn’t a solution!” Sophitia said.

“Naivie is manipulative. She’s been lying to you the whole time, just feeding you everything you want to hear. All this will do is revive the sins of Aseria’s history,” Silver said.

“Which are what? Go on, tell us,” Sophitia said. Silver tensed up.

“You will need to ask Lassic. He’s the only one who knows.”

“So you’re just blindly listening to him? And you don’t even know, either?” Sophitia said, stamping forward.

“You’ve seen what he’s capable of. He is the leading mind that made Aseria what it is today. He brought out the best in Pokémon, enabled us to evolve beyond feral creatures occupying a wild world. We can maintain this world as it is, and we can do without destroying society. We just have to figure out how,” Silver said.

“Listen to me. The only reason I’m doing all this is because I work based on what I see rather than what I hear. I’m not listening to Naivie, or you, or Lassic. I never did. I’m doing this because I feel it’s best for the world, from what I’ve seen and experienced.”

“Then you’re impossible to reason with,” Silver said.

“Unless you have solid proof, of course. I’m sick of seeing Pokémon not act like Pokémon. All of them losing their powers as they rely on vehicles and other machines to do simple stuff. Just look at this island! Today’s Pokémon don’t care a bit about nature or their history. You Pokémon had everything you ever needed, yet you replaced it with whatever the hell everything is now, as if that’s progression!” Sophitia said.

“And all that’s under the belief that the old world, that flawed old world where dictatorship ruled and war was rampant, is better than a modern, democratic society?” Silver said.

“Democracy? Your democracy doesn’t even work!” Esther shouted. “Ordinary Pokémon like me slave away for pennies while aristocrats with no care for life breed Pokémon like me and Infia. We have more morals than that!”

“Your morals are about to ruin the lives of every single Pokémon that is just hanging on the edge. Pokémon with disabilities, or families they can barely support in their fields. Are you really going to forfeit them based on your blind ideals?” Silver said.

“Like I said. I do it based on what I see. And what I see is a world where those Pokémon can be Pokémon,” Sophitia said, forming her sword and shield. “You only want to preserve those Pokémon because they keep working for you.”

“So you see it. You can already tell we’re not going to see eye to eye on this. King’s Shield has been as kind and patient with you as they possibly can, but enough is enough. I’m not going to sit here and watch while a generation of kids destroy everything their elders spent so long building up,” Silver said, her eyes widening and body tensing. The others did the same, preparing for battle as best as they could.

“Just because you’re older, doesn’t mean you know better. Can’t you just look at everything that’s happening?” Esther said. She was cut off by Silver spitting out a Dragon Pulse attack, a beam of purple flames and energy that blew up on the floor where Esther just was.

“Your words are meaningless. If you really think that the world you live we live in is wrong, then fight the very law of it. Fight me! Put everything you have into it, and try to take me down,” Silver shouted.

Lute shuffled back a little. Normally he would be okay with that idea, but right now, he was certain that would lead to defeat or even death. He was in a bit of a daze, unfocused and lost in thought. His stomach panged so hard that he couldn’t stop shuddering, like if he fell to the ground now, he wouldn’t be able to get back up. He didn’t know whether he could trigger his powers again or not, even though he needed them now more than ever. Was it worth the risk trying?

But more so, he was totally lost in thought. He couldn’t understand what was happening, the full weight of it all. He was certain that when Esther came to his house on that fateful day, shoving Naivie in his face and dragging them off to Everend’s temple, that it was fate. Pokémon should be siding with him and cooperating in his efforts to restore the seasons.

And now here he was. Face to face in battle with Aseria’s most powerful defender, the strongest King’s Shield agent he knew. And she wasn’t having a word of him or his friend’s beliefs, strongly convinced that Lassic was in the right in telling them not to go through with this. Was it patriotism, blind or justified? Or was it truly adult knowledge he wouldn’t understand that she withheld from him? Or by extreme chance, was it the same as Sophitia, and Silver’s own personal beliefs driven by experience and sight?

The battle had exploded around him while he stared in dazed disbelief. The team scattered and came at her two at once, combining their moves to crush Silver in a pelting of special attacks. Flamethrower combined with Moonblast, Thunderbolt fused with Revelation Dance, and any other combinations they could pull of on a whim. Silver took none of it, bouncing across the cave at shocking speed, or pushing those attacks back with an easy Dragon Pulse.

It was chaotic and deafening. Beams rained across the cave, exploding and shrouding everyone in smoke. The cave shook as Silver’s Fire Punch and Outrage attacks smashed the ground as she missed, and the air trembled when Phoenix’s Flame Charge clashed with Aqua Tail. And when everyone seemed to collapse with fatigue, the Goodra twirled her head around as she threw up a huge, orange ball of fire. That fireball hit the ceiling of the cave and exploded against it, splitting into countless meteors that fell with the sound of fireworks.

This had him focusing and dancing about to dodge. He clenched his muscles and flew into Quick Attack, no longer thinking about. If one of those Draco Meteors hit him, he would be dead for sure. So he charged through the storm, darting left to right to avoid their fiery blasts as they exploded on the ground around him. Silver locked eyes with him for the briefest of moments before impact, and he hit her straight in the neck.

The scene froze for him, and battle instincts came into play. She had caught him by twisting to the side so that he hit her arm, but he had latched himself there. He cried out, opened wide, and bit down on her neck as hard as he could, his motion exaggerated by a bear trap made of energy that clamped down on her with his motions.

Silver winced and twirled, and then with a feral thrash, sent him skidding across the ground. Just that felt like it tore the skin off his chest, but natural reactions made him right himself. He was puffing and panting, drenched in goo and sweat. He tried to hop into another Quick Attack, but the goo had made him heavier, sticking him to the ground. One glance at his feet made it look like he had glue underneath them or something. His only response was a fierce growl at the dragon.

She had to fight off Sophitia’s sword and shield with a Fire Punch and Flamethrower, effortlessly bashed Esther away with a backhand, and then locked eyes with Lute before roaring. She came at like a Sharpedo, surrounding her arms and face in a draconic storm of energy, hopping off the ground to dive straight at him. He had moments to react, and anxiously did whatever came to mind.

His electric attack came out, a crackling orb of yellow electricity. It looked like she literally ate it to charge right through and slam into him, and that was it for him. All he could do was roar at the top of his voice, losing all senses in his body to pain.

“Lute!” Sophitia shrieked. She rushed over to him while the others stood guard over her, letting her fret over him.

He couldn’t hear her for a while, though. He felt like his whole body was on fire, melting and shedding its insides as a mixture of agony and chilling took over him. The attack hadn’t physically broken him or anything, but it left him on his back and shivering, body covered from head to toe in black and red marks. He managed to keep a hold of himself enough to notice Sophitia and Infia above him, the latter using her healing touch to try and restore him. It must have been working, because that burning agony had shrunk into aches and hunger pangs after a moment.

He rolled to his feet and huffed, hanging his head. This was a bad idea. The worst idea he had ever had. Believing he stood a chance against Silver and taking her head on like that while starving to death. Even if his V-Pocket powers had triggered, she probably would have competed with them for long enough to beat him on stamina alone. He glared up at her furiously, and she glared right back, her eyes red and crazed.

But the Goodra was spasming. She was in an uncomfortable pose, or what would be one if not for how round and jelly-like her body was. She was paralysed, snarling and crackling with electricity. And just when he thought to take advantage, someone else acted for him. He could only see their shadow drop behind her before it was too late, and a thorn stabbed her right in the back. Silver let out a shrill cry, arching her back hard. She froze in that position, and was cradled carefully by the leafy arms of a Dragalge.

“What the?” Esther screamed.

“Easy now. I would not move too much if I were you. The more you do, the faster the poison will seep through your body. And it wouldn’t do to have a dead Goodra on either of our hands, would it?” Storm whispered. The others made a move, but one sharp glare from him, and they all froze. “I must admit, it was a lucky stroke that you happened to fight her. If not for your attack paralysing her so, I might not have ever landed my Poison Tail. It is both luck, and something I thank you for.”

“Now what? What is _he_ doing here?” Esther cried. Storm’s eyes thinned as if he was grinning at them.

“I have information for you, heroes. Information you will be very happy to hear,” he said. He let go of Silver’s shivering body, letting her slump to the ground. He kept his tail in her however, spreading a hideous patch of purple around the stab wound. It was underneath her skin, almost like a poisonous bruise was spreading across it, separating her veins and pores. “Princess Genesis is ours. And she’s told us where the Mega Stone is. It is only a matter of time now before ultimate power is ours.”

“No… seriously? Genesis? You’re just saying that to throw us off!” Sophitia gasped, shaking her head.

“Hoho. Is that what you believe? Then so be it. Sit and watch as Spirle evolves into an unstoppable force,” he said, crossing his thin arms. “Meanwhile, her little heroic husband was apprehended by none other than King’s Shield. They made our job easy!”

“Kuri as well?” Infia said.

“And now, thanks to you, we have Silver. She should make an impressive Risen,” he said, starting to float off the ground. “That is all. As things are now, Aseria is already within our grasp!”

“What? No, don’t you dare run you bastard!” Esther shouted, diving toward him. Storm spun around quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye, taking Silver with him. “No! Get back here!”

“We know you will come for her. If you do not, consider her dead,” his voice echoed around the room. Everyone twisted around in expectation of an ambush, but nothing came. His presence simply vanished.

“Uh,” Naivie said, making them all jump. She came from behind the flower, eyes agape.

“Naivie! You were hiding?” Sophitia cried.

“Well yeah, Silver came before you woke up. I couldn’t let her find me and do something,” she said, shaking. “But what in the world just happened?”


	29. Project Dragonlord

** **

“So Silver got stabbed and kidnapped,” Marina said, beginning to pace. It wasn’t the habitual pacing of a deep thinker, but the stressed kind of someone on the verge of breaking down. She ended with a loud sigh, slamming her paw on the table beside her.

The group had managed to call a truce on their situation by telling the agents of Silver’s abduction. With King Shield’s usual leaders out of commission, leadership duties fell to Marina of all Pokémon. She welcomed Lute’s group back to the Pokétopia base and provided them with a table of nourishment, but even with their hunger, her angst had them freeze up.

“Er, you okay?” Esther said, slowing her chewing on an apple.

“This whole thing is turning into one unbearable mess. Lassic had us focusing on stopping you and the Spirle attacks, but from what I’m gathering, this is all going well beyond some simple crimes, now,” Marina said, staring at her paw. She clawed at the table, her added pressure to it making it shake. “And he’s still absent. I don’t know what he’s playing at, but we need him now more than ever, and he’s away on ‘business’.”

“Well what do you want us to do? You obviously invited us back here to ask for something. I doubt you guys actually wanna let us go free,” Sophitia said.

“I trust you, though! Silver was the one chasing you guys, not me,” Marina cried. “I don’t believe Esther’s eyes are an issue now, especially if Spirle know that we know. We’ve got way bigger things to worry about.”

“I hope so. Did they leave a ransom note telling us where to go for Silver?” Sophitia said.

“They did. And I believe I should send your group to retrieve her. You have the power, and it’d help to mend whatever vendetta she has against you. But I can’t help but hold off on this. Something seems massively wrong with the whole thing,” she said, turning away.

“It’s just bad guys doing bad guy stuff. What could be wrong about everything else?” Esther said, stuffing her face again.

“Hasn’t it struck you guys as odd what Spirle have been doing ever since… well, forever?” she said, pacing again. “Their actions seem so aimless and sporadic. Even for a team of villains who have had access to government secrets through your eyes, what they’re doing with it seems petty compared to what they _could_ be doing. I just can’t put my paw on what their plans are at all.”

“_It’s true. It’s not even obvious why they kidnapped Esther in the first place. They can’t have known she’d become a teammate who gets regular access to this place. Then there’s the Risen attacks, and now the kidnapping of Silver. I guess there’s also kidnapping Gen, too,_” Lute thought, having a light bulb moment. “One thing’s for sure, they’re after the Mega Stone. Wait, then Kuri might know what to do.”

“Kuri?” Marina said.

“He’s going to hate me for telling you this, but Kuri’s wife Gen knows where the Mega Stone is. She’s the last royal Ancient, Princess Genesis. When Spirle did that mass attack all over Aseria, Angard was the main place they targeted because they heard it from Kuri through Esther’s camera,” he said, widening Marina’s eyes. “But King’s Shield arrested Kuri when he went to help her, letting them kidnap Gen easily. But if he works with us, we might be able to fix this quickly.”

“Are you suggesting Spirle created a diversion? Or set up a trap using us that could occupy Kuri?” she said. “Silver did admit that it felt easier than expected to finally arrest him.”

“I think it’d be something like that. But the Pokémon we need to be trying to save right now is Gen, not Silver!” he raised his voice.

“Alright. We need to calm down and get clearer on this. We’re not leaving Silver behind,” Marina said. She gulped, took a deep breath, and then paced a little bit. “I’ll need you all to come with me, if you can.”

“Can we take the food with us?” Sophitia asked, turning red.

“Of course! I hope you guys are feeling better, you looked starved. When I’m in charge, I don’t care about mess,” she said with a smile, leading the way. Infia and Esther pumped their fists, stuffing their cheeks before wrapping everything up.

The group stayed quiet while they were directed, taking note of how clean everywhere in the base looked. They didn’t exactly trash the place during their escape, but to find that there was no evidence of their skirmish here whatsoever was remarkable. King’s Shield certainly were efficient when it came to hiding their tracks, even when they were in their own hidden base.

They headed down a few flights of stairs into a darker sector of the base, where they found prison cells. A single lampshade at the ends of the halls were all the sources of light here, and a distant sound of leaking droplets was all the company the Pokémon here got. Lute felt heavy-hearted as they wandered through, unable to help but stare into the cells they passed. There were six cells in all, and each one was empty besides one. Kuri was sat on a bench at the back of that one, head hung and fists clenched together.

“I have so many questions, but I feel like it’s better to trust you guys on knowing what you’re doing,” Marina said. Kuri lifted his head at her voice, but he looked furious with them. “Kuri is one of yours, isn’t he? I’m going to set him free, as long as he stays with your group.”

“Seriously? You’re just gonna do that on a whim?” Sophitia said, leaning back.

“Well I figured that much out. If Spirle created a diversion involving Kuri, then it’s obvious he’s a key to this. Silver was only going to have him executed in a court trial, anyway.”

“So what is it?” the Chespin spoke up, his voice parched. “Am I now your pawn or else?”

“I do still have to do my job, so you could see it that way. But I’m letting you go with Sophitia’s team. If you’re really deeply part of everything going on right now, then you’ve no reason to object. They’re here to stop whatever Spirle’s up to,” Marina said, becoming stern. “Kuri. We need information. Everything you know about Spirle. Why they’ve kidnapped Gen, what they’re doing with the Risen, why they did what they did to Esther—”

“Go to hell. What do you think I am, one of them? You’d never catch me spitting in their direction,” he said, turning away. “I don’t know the answer to any of that, except why they took Gen. But I’m gonna guess you already know why ‘cos this lot couldn’t keep a freaking secret after all.”

“It’s necessary right now. Who knows how far Spirle have gotten? They could be on their way to the Mega Stone right now,” Lute said. “C’mon, please Kuri. Work with us. I’m sorry we let you down before. But you’re one of the heroes, we need—”

“Don’t get all sappy on me. I never said no. But don’t expect me to be totally buddy-buddy after you flipped me off back there,” he said, walking over at last.

“We didn’t. King’s Shield actually turned on us. They wanted to take away Esther’s sight and hearing thanks to that camera,” Phoenix said. Kuri seemed surprised by that, and unfurled his arms. “Now Silver was taken by Storm. We may have time yet, but it seems like they’re trying to waste it.”

“And Lassic?” he asked.

“Nowhere to be found. Away on business.”

Kuri looked away. His face started to go pale as he nibbled at a hand. “Of course he isn’t here. But them stalling for time just means she’s suffering right now.”

Then there was silence, besides those droplets. Lute was particularly surprised to see him this way, confounded and sweating from whatever his inner thoughts were. The group were equally as unnerved, rubbing arms and avoiding eye contact. That was until Phoenix took a deep breath and stepped forward, getting his friend’s attention.

“Kuri. Until recently, you have been fighting with only a select few Pokémon on your side. But now, things are about to change. Big things. Big things caused by this team right here,” he said, glancing at everyone. “We’re not just King’s Shield agents. We’re not just heroes, either. At this point, we’re friends.”

“Your point?”

“You wanted me to keep a connection with King’s Shield. By being with them, I can tell you that you can trust them with everything. We only want to do what is best for the world, just as you do,” he said.

Kuri shut his eyes for a moment, and then shook himself. “Gods damn it. Not like I have a choice anymore. It’s my pride or the whole world.”

“Precisely. Tell King’s Shield what they need to know. And don’t hold back on it,” Phoenix said. Marina’s eyes raised, and she cocked her head.

“Hmpf. Alright. We’ll see how much you believe me after all. I’ll reveal, but none of you will like it,” Kuri said. “We’re on the crux of Aseria’s greatest crisis. Even greater than the Meteorite Event that took the lives of so many and ended Aseria’s Ancient days.”

“That’s because of the Mega Stone, right? If Spirle’s leader gets their hands on that, we’re in trouble. That much is obvious,” Marina said.

“What isn’t obvious is how close they really are to doing that, and how little power we have to stop them. The world is already being ruled by Spirle,” Kuri said, walking off. He headed back upstairs with a distant snarl on him, a vacant but feral aggression like he was trying to stifle the frustration of his thoughts. Everyone followed in interest. “That’s because our main enemy is Lassic.”

“Co… come again?” Lute said, freezing up.

“Our enemy is Lassic. He’s the one who caused the Meteorite Event, and now he’s the one orchestrating this whole thing. He’s found the Mega Stone, but he needs as much time as possible to work with it.”

“So he’ll stall for time by any means possible?” Sophitia said.

“Wait wait wait, hold on a sec, don’t leap a million miles ahead. Lassic? Why is Lassic our foe?” Esther said.

“I knew you weren’t gonna listen to me.”

“Not with a bold as hell statement like that, no!”

Kuri took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, ignoring the attention he was drawing from all the other agents still here. “Spirle rule the world because Lassic is their leader. He’s staged everything. Rising through the hierarchy until he’s the unquestionable god he sees himself as today. I saw it all happen. A scientist from the earliest days of the modern age who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“What you’re saying is Lassic commands King’s Shield and Spirle, making himself appear as a hero? For what reason would he have to create such intimidating false villains?” Marina said.

“So much for do or die. It’s just like I expected. The more I reveal, then less you guys are gonna believe me,” Kuri said, folding his arms again. “You guys have a Teleportal here, right? We’ll need one.”

“It’s just absurd to think, especially for me,” she said, looking down.

“More absurd than everything Spirle’s done so far? Like putting a camera in someone’s brain, or kidnapping Silver for no reason?” he said.

“Look, you don’t know Lassic the way I do. This hasn’t been obvious, but he was part of a team with me and Silver, you know. The five of us, we were the original Agents of King’s Shield. Me and my husband Evoli, Silver and her husband Jagen, and then Lassic as our leader… we built up everything together. We went from a nerdy little rescue team to the syndicate we have today,” she said, challenging him. “He’s the living icon of advancement and peace in Aseria. He couldn’t possibly be some criminal mastermind controlling a group of terrorists. The things he stands for, the things he creates, the things he works towards… we wouldn’t be living in nearly as peaceful times if not for him.”

Kuri was quiet, but his face grew more intense with every word. “You’re right. You don’t know him the same way I do. You don’t know him as a crazed scientist who doesn’t care about anything other than gaining more power. All he really wants is to turn this world into his making, and will stop at nothing to do that. He wiped out the Ancients and stripped the world of their lifestyle because of their refusal to suck up to him.”

“Okay, stop a second. Arguing about this isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Sophitia said, pushing her way between them. “We need to work with what we have. We’re on our own now, and we know that Spirle are after the Mega Stone, which Gen has knowledge of. Kuri. Can you help us get to the Mega Stone first?”

“I don’t actually know where the Mega Stone is. Despite being married, that’s information even I wasn’t allowed to know,” he said, looking away.

“Of course it wasn’t,” Esther said.

“But I do know where their base is, and that’s where she’ll likely be. We go there, we save Gen, and then we disappear from the world. As long as Lassic is in power, nowhere is safe for us.”

“That doesn’t sound nice at all,” Lute said, looking down.

“I don’t care. You guys aren’t willing to accept the truth,” he said. “Spirle’s Base is in the world buried in the planet, Moand Dia. We can get straight there using a Teleportal. I know you guys have been messing about with those things, so I assume you have one here.”

“Moand Dia?” Lute and Sophitia said, exchanging glances.

“What? You’ve been there?” Kuri said.

…

In a flash of light, the wavering colours of teleportation disappeared and they appeared at their destination. Only Lute’s group could go as the strange limitations of Moand Dia were present here.

They landed in what looked like a laboratory not much different to the King’s Shield bases they were used to. Sterilised tiles for floors and walls, pipes jutting out and tangling all over the place, and a whole plethora of computers and high-tech devices lining the tables and sides of the room.

But the absence of Pokémon or noise gave this place a more sinister feel than the agent bases Lute had gotten used to. He stepped forward warily and sniffed the air, cringing from the suffocating feel of it. It was almost as if there wasn’t any oxygen here, or at least, the air was so stale that it hardly gave him the energy it was supposed to.

“Wait, this smells like… banana wrap? Or maybe that’s a sugar doughnut. No no, I think it’s chocolate popcorn,” Esther said, getting happy. “Either way, it smells like my room. That’s funny!”

“It smells so bad, though! Isn’t this just gone off food?” Infia said.

“Of course it’s all gone off. You try keeping a decent stock of meals when you’re god knows how many layers deep into the planet,” Kuri said, tilting his head.

“Is this really it, though?” Sophitia said while the group scattered around the room to investigate. Esther immediately headed for the suspiciously fridge-like machine, happy to find that it was in fact, a fridge. “Also, you had a way into Spirle’s main headquarters the whole time? And it was as easy as using the Teleportals…”

“It seems too convenient, doesn’t it? But that’s how little anyone would question Lassic’s discoveries. I’ve never been able to get the power to storm a place like this. Let alone a reason, either,” Kuri said, arms folded. He never looked at her once. “I doubt we’re strong enough now, too. But we have to try, to save Gen.”

“Who keeps a fridge without having it turn on? All the food in here’s spoiled,” Esther said, brushing her nose at it. “They’ve got good taste, though. There’s curry sandwiches in here.”

“Curry sandwiches? Who puts curry in a sandwich?” Sophitia said.

“_Anything_ works in a sandwich if you try hard enough,” Esther said, half-lidded.

“Er… okay, whatever. Let’s focus. They probably know we’re here. We need to find Gen or Silver,” she said, forming her sword and shield. “Weapons out. If we really are in the enemy’s home base, they’ll attack us on sight.”

“If there’s one truth to all of this, it’s that Kuri could activate a Teleportal and casually led us here of all places,” Lute said, looking at him. “Kuri, I…”

“Don’t get all sappy on me. I don’t care what you have to say,” he said, walking off. Lute groaned but caught up with him.

“You might not care, but I do. I-I want you to know that I’m on your side.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“Stupid? Y-you got us here. I don’t think you’re lying, it’s just hard for everyone to believe,” Lute said, looking away. Kuri froze, and then turned to him with that distant fury on his face again.

“Me and Gen have spent the last twenty years opposing the world’s most politically powerful dictator on our own. _No one_ believes us. _No one_ would side with us. And even now, with evidence on our side, _no one_ would stand with us. And you expect me to believe that through some shoddy little friendship morals based upon nothing but your own naiveté, you’re going to suddenly start fighting with me? You, a product of this world’s flawed infrastructure?” Kuri said, silencing everyone. “Don’t make me laugh. You’re only in it to save your leaders and get your next pay check. I know you don’t believe me or any of this. We don’t share the same beliefs about the way Aseria should be.”

“B-but I know there’s truth to it. You and Gen are really close and passionate about the Ancients and the old world. That’s why you both helped us. That’s why you worked so hard to keep Angard alive. That’s why you’re here now,” he said, hanging his head.

“Plus, Lassic was totally against us awakening the Ancient Flowers and stuff. And when it most mattered, came up with an excuse to try and get us killed when we were nearly done,” Sophitia said. “If Lassic really is some narcissistic guy who wants to rule the world or whatever, it’s shown through in more ways than one.”

“What, so now you guys are totally against him? Attacking him means becoming the enemy of every last Pokémon in Aseria, you know. Destroying the world you grew up in and becoming the very terrorists Spirle are known as. Are you really prepared to do that?” Kuri asked, grinning. His smile faded when no one replied. “Exactly. No one would willingly side with me and Gen on that.”

“… Well, Phoenix did,” Esther said, arms folded and eyes closed. Kuri looked to get even angrier, but left it at that, practically storming off.

“_It is true that it’s a really difficult pill to swallow. If Lassic’s the bad guy here, it’d explain that weird daydream I had, as well as all the other weird stuff. But it could just as easily be a really elaborate mix up,_” Lute thought, his heart racing as they headed deeper into the lab. He snuck a glance up at Kuri, who was concentrating hard. Then at the surrounding area, which looked exactly like a King’s Shield base. It even had rooms with hologram tables on it, and glass sections where stasis chambers were. But not one Pokémon was present.

The difference was that a lot of it was badly damaged. The further they went, the more they came across broken computers or damaged pipes. Small leaks of white smoke, crackling loose wires, dented tables and bruised walls, all getting more and more frequent as they passed through rooms, hallways, and stairs. They eventually came to a familiar room that actually still had a fire in it, and everyone covered their mouths.

“This is a copy of the Pokétopia base,” Infia said, stopping to look around this new room.

“You sure you didn’t accidentally warp us to an old base or something?” Sophitia said. “Everything’s broken and out of use.”

“Then where are all the agents? I’m just as concerned as you are,” the Chespin said, scanning the computers. He groaned at the fact that most of them were broken, but his face lit up when he found one that was still on. “Damn it, passcoded. I can’t get in.”

“Naivie, can you confirm that we’re actually in Moand Dia?” Lute asked, shaking himself. She came out of his mane and lazily settled on his head, yawning.

“Huh? Oh yeah, guess you’re in the old world. That’s where all the teleportals lead, after all,” she said.

“So either way, what’s a place like this doing inside the planet? No Pokémon could survive here normally,” he said, spinning around to look at what everyone was doing. Phoenix was tapping things on the computer Kuri was at, and whatever they were seeing, it was making Kuri more interested.

“Oxygen containment and ventilation. Pressurisers, remote access commands for every room in the base. The way this looks, you’d think we were in an underwater home or something. Because the concentration of V-Waves in the atmosphere prevents Pokémon from living in Moand Dia, this place has a heck-ton of stuff to make it bearable. And it still feels like I can barely breathe,” Kuri said, tapping his chin and a foot.

“That explains something else. So all these pipes and vents and stuff, all this makes it so that normal Pokémon can survive here,” Sophitia said, looking around. “Meanwhile, all King’s Shield have are those creepy suits, and their research of Moand Dia is struggling.”

“See if you can find something more useful, like a map or a report or something. This info’s useless,” Kuri said as Phoenix tapped away.

“Maybe for us. I’m sending everything I can to Marina,” he said.

“How come Fluffy Cheeks can use the computer?” Esther asked.

“Remember, I was part of Spirle before I was appointed to you. I may have been a soldier to them, but my tirelessness made me useful for maintenance as well. I know how to operate and fix a lot of their machinery,” he said, not looking away from the screen. “They’re here! On the lowest level. There’s three Pokémon here right now!”

“Wait a minute, isn’t this super weird? Spirle’s main base, but just three Pokémon are here? No guards, no High Points, nothing?” Sophitia said.

“No complaints. Let’s go, Phoenix lead the way!” Kuri said. The Fennekin nodded and charged off.

“Wait seriously, it might be a trap or- oh god damn it, what is wrong with that guy?” she said, shaking herself off before following.

“Whoa geez, this got a lot scarier than I thought it would be,” Esther said, dancing on her toes. “Hey er, if at any point you wanna bail, don’t hesitate, ‘kay?”

“We’re in too deep to run away now, though. I won’t run anymore,” Infia said.

“That’s my girl,” she said, smiling.

“I don’t really get what’s going on, though,” she admitted, running on all fours.

“Heh, neither do I, Infia. Neither do I.”

The Spirle base retained its identical layout to the King’s Shield base right up until they were at the lowest level, where a new room was present. The sophisticated look of the tiled walls was dropped in place of natural caves. Black rock that shone with moisture and a gooey, sparkly substance, surrounded a room which was so busted up that it was a wonder the lights were still working. The same computers from earlier were there, but now they had wires and pipes scattering all over the floor to a single power supply somewhere back in the base. Pickaxes lay against the walls, lights had been taped to the ceiling and floors, many flickering on and off from damage. Everything here looked like a poorly managed excavation site.

“It’s even harder to breathe down here. It’s like this isn’t part of the base or something,” Lute said, having to breathe through his mouth. Everyone except Sophitia was the same, and had gone from running to walking.

“The cave goes onwards, though,” Phoenix said, huffing between words. “We’re so far down that the V-Waves are getting denser.”

“Do you mind if I wait here? I don’t wanna get left behind if I keel over on you,” Naivie said.

“Just stay in my mane or something,” Lute said.

“Na-uh. It’s tough enough to breathe in there as it is.”

“You have to breathe?” he said. She bashed him on the head. “Alright alright, just, watch from a distance though. We might have to use an Escape Orb.”

“You got it, kid. This is all your business, anyway. I don’t wanna get involved.”

“Typical Naivie,” he groaned, scratching his face.

One more steep slope onward and the roughness of cave got worse. The area widened as it descended, but there was a lot more broken rock scattered everywhere and marks on the surroundings where stray attacks had hit. And right at the bottom was a metal door protected by a giant green barrier. Storm the Dragalge and Gen were there, but the two of them appeared to be roughed up.

“Gen!” Kuri roared the moment he saw her, charging forward.

“Kuri? Wa-wait!” she cried back. But he ignored her, throwing himself at Storm with an arm pulled back for his Needle Arm attack. Storm avoided his initial three attacks, but was struck by the last, sent sailing into the wall. He cried out and slammed to the ground pathetically, left surrounded by chipped rocks.

“Are you okay?” Kuri gasped.

“I’m fine you dolt! What’s with you?” she cried, shaking in his arms.

“What’s with me? You look like a state! You were kidnapped by Lassic and everything. I had no idea what was happening! I could’ve… I could’ve lost you,” he said, falling forward. “I’m so freaking glad you’re okay.”

“And as you can tell, I’m totally fine!” she said, backing off to brush herself off. She realised how ripped and scruffy her clothes looked and blushed, pulling at it to hide her fur underneath. “Okay, I admit I could look better, but this is nothing, you know that. I’m totally fine. We have a bigger problem.”

“None bigger than getting you the hell outta here. We’re in a crisis here, but there’s no time to explain.”

“I’m not going. I can’t leave this the way it is,” she said.

“Genesis, please! If we stay here, we’re—”

“What’s gotten into you? You’re acting like a kid who’s just found their mother,” she said, growling at him. He sighed, putting his arms around her. She accepted his hug, but her face was going red.

“I can’t begin to tell you how worried I’ve been. I couldn’t bear if I’d really lost you,” he said, trying to sound calm. “For the first time ever, I was helpless, and knowing that you were taken by Spirle during that time… It hurt to think about what they might’ve been doing to you.”

“Well you’re gonna have to hold those feelings. We have a crisis of our own here,” she said, breaking free. “This is gonna sound nuts, but Storm needs you guys’ help.”

“He… what? _Him_?” Esther cried.

“Spirle’s king is on his way to the Mega Stone as we speak. However, he is making use of a flawed theory,” Storm said, getting up from the rubble. He was furious but weak, hung forward and nearly lifeless. “Wait, Lute, why did you return? To finish us off?”

Lute didn’t answer, raising an eyebrow. His silence only made Storm squint, and he shook with fury.

“So it wasn’t you. A feral Eevee in your likeness forced Spirle to evacuate this place.”

“A feral Eevee in your likeness? Evoli? Evoli was here?” Sophitia said, looking over at everyone. They all shrugged.

“He seems to want to stop the Spirle King! But the king was never here. He departed for the Mega Stone a little while ago, practically the moment I completed my work on Project Dragonlord,” Storm said, crossing his arms. “I believed that I reached a breakthrough with using V-Waves to create soldiers and alter a Pokémon’s genetic makeup. If this theory would work, then the Pokémon behind that cage would be unstoppable.”

“And he plans to use that same work using the Mega Stone to make himself invincible,” Sophitia said, looking away.

“But the theory didn’t work! Project Dragonlord just now turned into a Risen. An exceedingly powerful one, for that matter. I cannot contain it!” Storm said. “If the Spirle King uses the same technology on the Mega Stone, he will turn himself into a Risen. Please, you must stop him.”

“You have got a fucking load of nerve asking us to do _anything_ for you,” Kuri said.

“Like, how stuck up do you actually hafta be?” Esther said, rubbing her face.

“Also, Project Dragonlord? The ultimate soldier, is behind that door?” Lute said, fixated on it. “You… d-did you turn Silver into a Risen?”

“That was not the intention. Normally, my failed attempts at soldiers that become Risen would at least follow orders or could be contained by some means,” Storm said. “But this thing is uncontrollable! It is an actual monster that far exceeds my expectations. It is fruitful that your group is here, now. It will require all our effort to bring it down.”

“This is crazy, Gen. Look, we need to get outta here, now,” Kuri said, tugging at her arm.

“We can’t leave this monster here. Once it breaks free, it will wreak havoc upon Aseria,” she said, standing firm.

“That’s not our problem! Let these kids deal with it,” he said.

Before she could argue, the ground shook below them, throwing everyone off balance. The group went quiet, flinching when the door behind the barrier was smashed from behind. It didn’t break, but the whole cave vibrated, and a quivering, gurgling roar came from beyond. That was followed by several more slams, each one sounding like it threatened to bring down the whole cave around them.

“It’s here! Project Dragonlord!” Storm said.

“Tsk, damn it. Gen, you better not do anything reckless!” Kuri said, standing up front and ready to fight.

“The same goes for you, asshole,” she said, doing the same. Lute’s group got ready to fight in their own ways, all stood side by side.

The green barrier shattered like glass, but the shards fizzled out into the air before they caused any harm. A moment later, the metal wall with the door broke apart, and Storm’s monster tripped through, roaring a triumphant cheer.

Project Dragonlord. The hint that it was Silver turned Risen was undeniable, now. This Risen had her exact her round and smooth shape, and kept Goodra’s traits of being slimy and shiny. But it was murky coloured and perspiring an alarming amount of brown mud constantly, leaving a sea of the stuff in its wake. Its eyes were hollow and pink, glowing in the uncertain darkness. Trails of goo connected its lips constantly, causing it to sound as if it was drowning.

But the main issue was that this monster was a giant. Just one of its dripping claws was bigger than Lute’s whole body. He would drown in mud if he got close to it. Coupled with its inconsistent combination of sharp appendages and rounded skin, he was at a loss on how to approach this thing in a battle.

“I er, wha- uh,” Esther said, staggering away. “Okay look, I’ve played the part of the hero before, but this is like, how the hell do we hit this thing?”

“Don’t let it get you muddy, stay away!” Sophitia cried, having to turn around and leap away to avoid its claw slamming down.

“She’s right. We have to try something!” Lute said, jumping up high. He formed Swift and threw with all his effort, having the stars lodge themselves deep into its body. They exploded in massive, blinding bursts which tore its body apart, sending the Dragonlord stumbling back.

“What? Lute, how did you?” Kuri said.

“Guys, remember you’re in Moand Dia,” Naivie cried, getting their attentions. “There’s _lots_ of V-Waves here. Your Pokémon powers will be super effective and easy to use here.”

“Okay, then let’s try Energy Ball,” he said, pulling an arm back to form one. It took just an instant the charge the attack until it was bigger than his head, and when it hit the Dragonlord, it once again sent it stumbling back. “Oh hell yeah. I almost forget how it felt to have power in my guts.”

With a growl and an uncomfortable looking twitch, the slimy dragon started to regenerate however, reforming the split parts of its body in glow of white light. Just like that it returned to being unharmed, and roared at the group loudly enough to pin them to the spot.

“It’s still not gonna be easy,” Sophitia muttered, observing it closely. It suddenly bolted forward, surrounding its claws in green energy that enlarged them, a Dragon Claw attack. It swiped hard and wide, forcing everyone to jump back again. However, Esther and Kuri were struck directly, and smashed into the walls to the sides.

“Kuri! You’ll pay for that!” Phoenix shouted, charging towards it. He leapt up high and scorched everything below him in Flamethrower, hitting the Dragonlord so hard that his attack actually pierced it, revealing the monster’s flesh-filled insides. That regenerated immediately however, and Phoenix landed deep in the creature’s muddy wake. He panicked down there, and stared up into the face of a Dragon Pulse attack. He braced, by his frightened cry filled the area, shrouded by a blast.

“Don’t get close to it!” Infia cried, dancing on her toes. Gen floated using her Psychic, but instead of attacking, pulled Phoenix out the mud and retreated, grouping up with everyone.

“We may be able to hit it hard, but one hit from this thing is ten times worse,” Phoenix admitted, unable to stand. His body was shivering and sparking with purple flames where the Dragon Pulse lingered on him, even after Infia’s healing touch.

“But it regens so quickly. Storm, isn’t there anything you can tell us that’ll help?” Lute said, glancing at him.

“I already know how to beat it,” Sophitia said, staring intently at it. She hesitated however, watching it thrash about at the surrounding cave like a wild beast.

“Well then? Now is not the time to mess around!” Kuri said, shaking a fist at her. She shuddered and hung her head.

“Did you see its insides? It’s a living thing. If I stab it with my sword, I’ll kill it for sure,” she said, holding said sword up high. “But I’ll kill it. I’ll kill Silver.”

“Right, this thing is Silver,” Lute gasped.

“This thing _was_ Silver. We kill it here or we let it kill thousands of others once it finds its way to the surface. Pick your poison!” Kuri said.

“I-I know but… damn it, Storm. Isn’t there _any_ way to bring back a Risen once its transformed?” Sophitia said. The monster charged up another Dragon Pulse attack, to which Kuri, Lute, and Esther combined their attacks to clash with it. The resulting blast shrouded them all in smoke, forcing everyone back even further. They were tripping on the wires and pipes of the area however and the lighting began to flicker.

“N-no, not to my knowledge. Risen we could not control were disposed of by being thrown out to sea,” Storm said.

“Tsk. They’re too emotional. Gen, with me. Let’s pin it down!” Kuri said.

“Got it,” she said.

The two of them jumped forward, Gen soaring through the air while Kuri hopped from spot to spot atop the pipes. As he closed in on the Dragonlord, both his arms began to glow brighter and brighter with shiny green energy. He bashed both fists together and then slammed them both into the ground.

“Frenzy Plant!” he shouted at the top of his voice. Thick vines erupted from the ground and swirled around the giant Risen, wrapping themselves around its arms and legs tightly. Neither Kuri or the Dragonlord could move, but it thrashed around as much as it could, making him strain and cry out in effort.

Gen wasn’t far behind with helping though. With both ears lifted and her arms stiff, she helped to pin it down with Psychic as much as she could. However, even with the two of their best efforts to hold it down, it was still growling and roaring, wrenching hard enough to shake the cavern. It had Kuri and Gen crying and growling in effort, straining themselves so hard it hurt.

“Grr damn it. Now’s your chance! Hurry up and kill the damn thing!” Kuri shouted.

Sophitia gasped and held her sword close. She knew what to do, yet she was beginning to freeze up. She couldn’t get Marina’s cries out of her head, or the knowledge that this was Silver’s fate. “Silver!”

“Sophitia,” Lute whispered.

“I know you’re in there, and you’re strong enough to fight it. You’re not like the other Risen. You’re aware of yourself right now, I know it!” she shouted, shutting her eyes. “So don’t make me do this. I get it now; you were once like us. Like me and Lute, and everybody else. I just wish you could’ve told us sooner, properly. That you were once a giddy little rescue team that wanted to be heroes, too.”

The monster quietened down, but its thrashing didn’t stop.

“You just wanna help everyone. And now that you’ve been through it all, you know that it’s not so easy sometimes, that you’ve got to put the majority before the minority. That’s why you wanted to take Esther, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted to fight us. That’s why you made us prove to you what we stand for,” she said, sounding like she was going to cry. “That’s why you made us a team in the first place.”

The Dragonlord started to get wilder and louder, making Kuri and Gen begin to trip up and falter. Lute and the others gasped, beginning to hold their special attacks at the ready while Sophitia held her sword with two feelers, pointing it straight at the monster.

“But you still have these feelings, too! I know you can have them. You just have to fight it and come back to us. Tell Marina and Lassic how you really feel. Let’s find a way to bring Evoli back. C’mon, let’s all work together for once, and make each other happy,” she cried. “Don’t make me do this. I don’t have to do this. You can come back to us Silver!”

The Dragonlord started to roar at the top of its voice, pulling its hardest on Kuri and Gen’s efforts. It broke free of the Frenzy Plant and the Psychic, and came stomping towards her with its claws bared and mouth overflowing with Dragon Pulse. “Silver!”

All thoughts stopped there. Everyone’s desperate instincts kicked off, and their attacks were fired straight at the monster’s chest. Swift, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and all combined with the energy of the area to glow the brightest the group had ever seen them. The attacks tore right through the slimy monster’s body, revealing its bloody organs.

With fangs bared and eyes clenched shut, Sophitia threw herself into that vulnerable spot, driving her sword straight through. A piercing screech was let out, and the monster’s body lost any sense of form immediately. It looked like it fell straight over Sophitia, smothering her in blood and flesh while its murky, muddy exterior flooded the area around them, swamping everything.

It submerged them all for a while, but as it spread, the height of the substance lowered. Sophitia remained frozen to the spot regardless, her body pale besides the remaining streaks of blood running down her fur. Her fangs were still clenched, her eyes were wide and empty, and her feelers were trembling hard.


	30. Beginning of the End

Silence. Everyone was gathered in the main room of Pokétopia’s agent base, yet all was silent. Heads were hung, some had their eyes closed, and any shuffles were kept to a minimum. Even Kuri was leaned against the wall in silence.

Eventually, Marina began to shift forward a bit, nodding her head as if struggling to keep a hold of herself. She did fall forward completely, but she was caught and held by Athens. He struggled to lift her a bit, but after a shudder and a sniffle, she picked herself back up.

“Marina,” he said.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I knew this day was coming. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon,” she said, struggling to keep a bearable tone. She opened her eyes and they were filled with tears, yet she maintained a straight face. It was morbid to look at. “We don’t have time to waste. We have to focus now.”

“Mum,” Lute whispered.

“You don’t have to be so strong, you know. No one here is judging you,” Kuri said, not looking at her.

“Are you sure?” she whimpered. No one replied, but their sorrowful appearances were an answer enough. Seeing that, the Vaporeon sniffled once more and then leaned on the table, keeping her paws by her eyes. Tears streaked down her face and weak hiccups strained her voice, echoing throughout the room. “She’s gone. I can’t believe she’s actually gone.”

Lute couldn’t look at her. He had seen Marina get emotional a fair share of times, yet this time it felt the worst. He hadn’t ever considered Marina and Silver to be close friends, yet here she was, staining the floor and the table with tears over what had happened. She sounded like she was trying to say something more, but all those words were lost to her wailing.

He felt guilty, even though he didn’t do anything. Or perhaps that was the problem, the fact that he didn’t try harder to help Silver, and in a way, contributed to her death by attacking her. No matter what way he thought about it, he regretted his actions. Both the out of character decision to attack her, but also the self-defence feelings that made him stay quiet in the first place.

“Silver fought so hard against Spirle for all this time. S-she dedicated everything she had to them. Even though we were far apart, I always knew,” Marina said, unable to stop her tears or stabilise her voice. “Perhaps if I hadn’t run away back then, all those years ago, things could have turned out differently. Perhaps I could have really understood how she felt and made her happier.”

“It’s not fair to blame yourself. You were protecting you and Lute,” Infia said.

“Besides, it was all because of Spirle. You came back and helped, even though you were suffering all that mental pain,” Esther said. “Ya’know? Like, you let Lute and that lot make a team. And then you started working with the agents again, too. You weren’t scared at all; you just did what you could.”

“And now, thanks to Spirle’s twisted ambition, you’ve lost one of your strongest,” Kuri said. “The only regretful thing you could do now is refuse to finish what she started.”

“Kuri?” Marina said, surprised that he approached.

“Lassic is away. Silver is gone. The only one left who can steer this ship is you,” he said. Marina gulped and sniffled. “So finish it. When your head’s clear, review all the information and come up with a plan.”

She shuddered and took a deep breath, trying to blink her eyes dry. “You’re right. I know you’re right, and still… you’ll have to forgive me. I need an evening.”

“It may be for the best if we drop this here,” Athens said, helping to guide her away. He stopped in the doorway. “I suggest you all remain here for the evening. You are free to go where you wish, but do not leave Pokétopia.”

Lute finally glanced up at everyone. The only Pokémon present were his group, Athens and Marina who had just left, and then a few other agents who had come to hear their report. Storm had been apprehended and locked up, claiming he knew nothing of use to them that they didn’t already know.

This was a cast he had gotten use to seeing. Outside of his friends, they usually retained a professional stance of showing no emotion whatsoever. But even they were slumped forward, ready to just punch a wall and throw themselves into bed from the looks of things. Frustrated frowns, heads leaned in paws, and all else across the board.

“I need to clear my head, too,” Sophitia said, standing tall and leaving before anyone could say anything.

“Sophitia,” Lute said, glancing back and forth. He ignored the few awkward glances he got and followed, although she slowed down once she left the room. She didn’t say anything when he caught up, either. He was concerned that they were leaving the base through the lifts. They went in, and even when the door shut, she didn’t press anything until a moment of silence. She let out an angry huff and smashed the button for the roof.

He groaned a little, trying not to look too miserable. Standing this close to her, he felt her cold trembles and every little huff she let out. He wanted to say something, anything, but no words came. And because of that, the lift felt far longer than it ever did. No one came in or out, nor did it stop on any floor. Yet it felt like a dozen minutes before it finally opened up to the roof lounge.

They walked slowly over to the clearest edge of the area, the one part with benches and the shortest hedge. No one else was here, so they sat right at the end.

Silence again. Silence besides the distant crowds below going about their business. He had been so busy with everything going on that he had forgotten about Pokétopia’s twilight aesthetic. The navy blue, night time hue made exciting thanks to the show lights illuminating every street from below. All those neon shop signs and happy crowds of Pokémon doing their thing as well, this city never slept. There were always crowds around, crowds that clearly weren’t worried about Risen or Spirle, or existential crisis’.

He was brought back to focus by Sophitia forming her sword. Just her sword. She held it out and glared at it with concentration. This was his first time getting to look at it so closely, despite it being used so much. A glowing pink blade with a handle that melded right into the skin of her feeler. Despite the feeler’s floppy, light, and flexible appearance, the blade was long, stiff, and heavy. Yet she could hold it up and swing it around without breaking a sweat.

“If I knew how to use Return, I might’ve been able to save her,” Sophitia said. He flinched back, realising he was staring.

“D-don’t blame yourself,” he said.

“But I failed everyone. I actually failed everyone,” she said, starting to shiver. “That was the hardest battle I’ve ever had to do.”

“Really?”

She frowned further, and then gave him a look. “What?”

“Yeah… really. Was that really the hardest battle you’ve ever had to do? Silver was going to beat us when she wasn’t a Risen,” he said. She turned back to the scenery.

“Tsk. We would’ve figured something out. That wasn’t going to end like that. But this, I had to use an attack that I don’t know how to do. And I couldn’t figure it out. I-I freaked out, so I just… attacked,” she said. “I could have just taken her attacks. They were dragon moves; they wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” he raised his voice.

“But it was my fault, Lute!”

“You did what we couldn’t do. You’re always doing what the rest of us can’t do,” he said, looking down. “It’s pathetic, really. I promised I’d help you get your memory back and find out who you really were and stuff. I promised I’d protect you, too. Yet, you’ve done everything.”

“Well blaming yourself isn’t going to make this any better, either,” she said, tapping him.

“But it’s true. You’ve saved us on so many occasions. You stop arguments, you lead us in the right directions, and when the going gets really rough, you always do the boldest things. I’m trying, yet I can never keep up with you. Or anyone else, really. Even Infia’s come into her own more than me,” he said, looking away. “The one time we really needed to help you out and do what you couldn’t do, and I couldn’t do a thing. I failed you.”

“Lute, this is about Silver, not me or you! Don’t be so selfish,” she said.

“I’m not being – no, this is totally about you!” he cried. “Sophitia, you had to make a decision for everyone’s sake, and we failed you!”

She gave him an angry look, so he shook himself and came closer. “If it was possible to save Silver, you were the one thinking about it most. But all of us were also in danger. You had to choose to struggle and save Silver, or save us and spare everyone the pain. You took it on yourself.”

“Oh, whatever. I just feel like shit. I could’ve saved her, I really could’ve, but my one shortcoming stopped me. I can’t not be frustrated about that,” she said, facing the scenery again.

Her body went stiff, tensing up so much that she was trembling. She kept breathing loudly, but she didn’t say anything. He raised a paw in wanting to say something, but all of a sudden, he choked up. He didn’t know what to say.

She was right, after all. If this Return move could have saved her, then her not knowing it despite the fact that Diancie tried to teach her the move was a major shortcoming, such a massive shortcoming that it cost her someone else’s life. And now, they had to deal with a heartbroken Marina.

He kept trying. He ran all sorts of words through his mind, but nothing made a sentence. He even opened his mouth to just blurt something out, but not a sound came. In the end, he just squeezed right up to her and hugged her leg instead. The instant he did, her trembling and stiffness came to a complete stop.

She relaxed after a moment too, and when she did, he shut his eyes. He soon felt a bit of shuffling, and then the two of them were huddled close. She sat up and cradled him from behind, keeping him between her hind legs, and her face down close to his. Without even thinking about it, he brought up a paw and linked it to one of hers.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

And then that was it. They sat like that for a while, cheek fur lightly brushed together, paws linked, and bodies loose and relaxed. He still didn’t know what to say, but that seemed to be okay. Like this, his own frustrations of not being useful at all didn’t seem to matter.

He was so quiet and relaxed that he could have slept right there. He had forgotten how plush and warm her body felt. Perhaps it was fairy magic that soothed him every time, too. Being this close to another Pokémon that wasn’t family was always such a cringey situation, yet with her, it felt right. As if he could do this with her at any time and it would keep him happy. He instinctively began to nuzzle her a bit more, but her response to that was to pull away a little.

“No. Not now,” she mumbled, breaking away a bit. He glanced up to see a little smile on her face. “You’re a real rascal, you know that?”

“What did I do?”

“Never mind, you little fluff ball,” she said, ruffling his head. She got up to reposition herself, settling down on her front and prompting him to join her. “We both screwed up. And all we can do from here on is try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“By… learning Return? I-I could try and help you learn it,” he said, titling his head.

“One thing at a time, Lute. You need to learn how to use your own moves well before you start tutoring anyone else.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Especially when it comes to keeping up with you.”

“You said it, not me. But also, if we don’t stop Lassic, we might not even have the chance to do that,” she said, staring at the Pokémon below.

“You think it’s Lassic, too? The King of Spirle. We haven’t actually seen them yet, and Storm didn’t know, either,” he said, staring as well.

“To be honest, no. I know it’s possible, but until I see it for myself, the real King of Spirle is just a mystery to me. It’s just easier to think of it that way. Lassic is easier to say than Spirle King.”

He paused. “Sophitia, are you okay?”

“You’re asking me that now?” she said, smiling again.

“I don’t know. You seemed really upset before, but now you just seem like, casual? I don’t know, I don’t get it,” he said, struggling to look at her. “I… I feel like you’re trying to do what Mum was trying to do earlier. But you don’t have to be strong now, too. If something’s bothering you, we can talk about it, you know? I mean, you have a lot going on.”

“No I don’t. I have just as much as you guys,” she said.

“You have your missing memories which have come back a bit thanks to those visions. There’s Diancie, and the fact that you have a sword and shield. We still haven’t figured out like, any of that,” he said, frowning. “I feel like you’re just being really casual about that stuff for some reason. You always have, but now it’s all built up and it’s kinda serious, you know?”

“Well, it’s not. It is what it is. I have these cool powers, and I’m using ‘em to be a heroine. Just like how you’re using your powers to be a hero.”

“What’re you talking about? You just admitted that you not understanding your powers is what made you attack Silver,” he raised his voice. Her face twisted sharply, and she sucked in a breath so suddenly that it looked like it hurt. He realised what he just said, and his chest tightened. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Oh shut up,” she said, pulling him into her. He yelped, freezing up when he realised that she had only brought him into another cuddle. “That’s it. Right there. That’s how you do it.”

“How I do it? What?” he said, starting to blush. She kept him close with her feelers, glaring down at him endearingly. She batted her eyes at him, to which he groaned and shuffled away. She let him go, but only to trot around him while teasing him with her feelers.

“You finally talked to me on equal. I’m your leader, yet you didn’t hold back. Finally. You finally talked to me like a hero would,” she said, stopping in front of him.

“Er… okay?”

“Don’t you get it, Lute? I’m not going to spell it out for you. But that, right there, is something I’ve been waiting for you to do for so long,” she said. “Now you tell me. Tell me how you really feel about this whole thing.”

“How I feel?” he said. He looked down at his feet. Now he was confused, but the question was clear. If she was asking, then whatever was wrong with her, it might actually help her to be honest. “I don’t really know. Everything’s been happening so fast. And when I think about it, it’s gotten really crazy, too. But the main thing is, I’m really glad you’re here, still?”

“Go on,” she said, going half lidded.

“Er… None of this ever would’ve happened if I didn’t follow you that day, back then in Everend. Or if you decided not to stick with me. Nothing’s actually gone that well in hindsight, but despite that, you’ve stuck with me and helped me even when I was at my worst. I’m still scared, and I’m still angry at myself for being so weak. But I’m also okay, because I know that you’re here and that makes me feel like everything’s going to be okay?” he said, slowly looking up at her. He blushed at her smile, rubbing his face. “That’s probably a bad thing to feel. Sorry, Sophitia.”

“Don’t apologize, just go on! Keep telling me how awesome and special I am,” she said.

“Wait is that what this is about?” he said, slumping forward.

“Maybe.”

“Your ego’s as big as your belly sometimes,” he said, groaning. That set off her giggling, and she danced around him a bit more.

“But that’s fine, isn’t it? I’m fine knowing that you’re fine. Yeah this is probably super big headed, but knowing that you look up to me so much keeps me going, y’know? I can be confident because you have nothing to complain about. You and the others. When the time comes and I do really need you guys’ help, I’ll make sure that I do. But until then, I’m gonna make sure that you can rest easy,” she said, stopping by the edge of the roof once more. “Hey. We’re definitely going to be headed to one huge battle very soon. It’s best to make sure that you don’t have any regrets going into a battle this huge. Y’know, make sure there’s absolutely nothing on your mind.”

“Nothing on my mind,” he mumbled, looking away. “The only thing I can think of is, I wish you didn’t say you don’t want to need us. We’re your friends, we’re here to help.”

“Oh never mind that, that’s not what I mean, silly.”

“Sophitia—”

“I mean nothing you wanna say. To me. About stuff. And how you’re feeling,” she said, leaning into him. He leaned back, blushing again. There was a moment of silence.

“Nothing,” he said, scratching his face.

“Nothing?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing else I really wanna talk about.”

“_Absolutely_ nothing at all?”

“Uh, nothing. Sophitia, is there something you want to say to me?” he asked, tilting his head. Her face went bright red.

“N-no. Nothing at all. I-I mean, I’m perfect, so there’s no regrets I could have going into this. I just thought because you cuddled me back there and all that, that maybe there might’ve been something you were trying to tell me,” she said, swaying her head.

“I just copied you, actually. You’d do that when I was feeling bad and it always made me feel better,” he said, still rubbing his face.

“Oh. Of course. Figures,” she said, looking away.

Then there was a moment of silence. He snickered at her to break it. She was about to tell him off when a peculiar, futuristic noise burst through the area. It made the two of them keep quiet, stand up, and look around.

An unnatural silence began to replace the usual chatter of Pokétopia. Lights began to go out in a wave across the city, causing the streets below to look like the depths of a dark dungeon. Worried chatter started up and muffled screams echoed as gondolas stopped in mid-flight. The city fell to complete darkness.

“The power’s out?” Sophitia said.

“But how? Everything’s V-Wave powered,” Lute said, glancing back and forth. “This is bad. We should get back to the others.”

“Wait, look!” she gasped.

He followed her gaze down to the dark roads below, not seeing anything for a short while. But soon enough, that strange sound began to vibrate the entire world around them. A sinister red glow began to tear through the ground, erupting in a frightening red hue. That red light burst up high in a stream of blood-red particles, running through the planet in a gradually enlarging crack. It was like a giant fissure was opening up below Pokétopia, letting this red energy flood out.

“What is this?” Lute whispered, frozen stiff and gawking. The red energy never reached their height but flowed just below the height of the rooftops, and the red particles that made it up flew high enough to turn the sky red. A few moments later, Lute’s team badge began to vibrate nonstop, and he scrambled to pull it out of his belongings. But upon taking it out, it wouldn’t stop vibrating, and the screen wouldn’t show up, either.

And then the worst of it came. It hit him almost when it felt like it was too late. A severe lack of air. He was breathing through his nose, but he didn’t seem to be getting any oxygen from it. He gasped a dry breath, coughed, fell forward, and then resorted to deep breaths aloud, keeping his paws by his neck. Only with this maximum effort was he getting air, and even then, it was just about enough to stay energized. He was literally suffocating.

“Lute? Lute hey c’mon, get a hold of yourself,” she said.

“C-can barely b-breathe. You’re okay?” he forced himself to say.

“I’m… fine,” she said, going blank. She snatched the badge from him and held it out, expecting the screen to appear. “Damn it, c’mon already.”

The screen suddenly popping up made her jump back, and she juggled the badge on her feelers. There wasn’t anything on the screen except for grey static, however. She froze to stare at it, and after stabilising his breathing a bit, Lute joined her. A voice was coming through clearer than expected.

“Pokémon of Aseria. Many of you must be in a panic now, but you must stop and calm down. Please, heed my words and listen to me very carefully,” the voice said.

“It’s Lassic,” Sophitia whispered.

“Many of the older generation will remember this. Twenty years ago, Aseria was struck by a seemingly endless rain of meteors made of fire. These destroyed a great percentage of the world, and left the rest bathed in insatiable flames. It was a time where our world was nearly completely and utterly reduced to ashes. But thanks to our cooperation and advancing understanding of nature, we were able to save ourselves and rebuild the world,” Lassic said. “Since then, I have worked tirelessly in an effort to evolve the world of Pokémon. The meteorite event nearly made Pokémon extinct, because they weren’t prepared to face such a crisis. However, I refused to stand idly by. I researched, and tested, and evolved our society into a state where such a crisis would never take our world ever again.”

“What’s he talking about? What’s going on?” Lute said, huffing.

“Shh. Just listen.”

“But the meteor event was just a taster of what was to come. The worst natural disaster Aseria has ever suffered is soon to befall us. It is a rapture, a complete and total eradication of all life on this planet,” Lassic continued. Their eyes were wide. “The red particles you see around you, stripping you of air are no greater than V-Waves, at a density so high that it physically hurts Pokémon. The world of Aseria intends to drain itself of these V-Waves, disabling our technology, our powers, our very life force, in attempt to bring Pokémon to extinction.”

“But why am I fine?” Sophitia whispered, clutching her chest. She glanced at Lute who was still struggling to breathe.

“But I am prepared once again. I can save you. I can stop this rapture, but only if you as Pokémon cooperate with me. It is time for us to evolve once again, as Pokémon, as a society, as a world. I have discovered the deepest secrets of the ancient phenomenon of the V-Wave, and now have gained total control over it. I will not allow it to destroy our world,” Lassic said. “Pokémon! You must cooperate with me. You must all come to Pokétopia. By any means possible, make your way to this dome in the centre of Aseria. Those who can fly, carry as many possible across the skies. Those who can swim, ferry all you can across the seas. Your powers will be nullified, but whatever your situation, you must do absolutely everything you can to reach this place. Here, within the dome’s walls, I can save you. Unite here and I can ensure your survival. Those who cannot make the trip, do not fear. You must gather as close as you can get to Pokétopia or the region surrounding it. The closer you are, the better.”

“What is this?” Sophitia whispered. “A rapture? How and why would something like this happen?”

“If you guys needed any kind of proof whatsoever, here it is,” Naivie said, popping out of Lute’s mane. “This guy’s nuts. Does he seriously think he can get the whole Pokémon world into this one dome? And how does he really plan to save everyone? What, with a shelter or something?”

Just like that, a light bulb exploded in Lute’s mind. It wasn’t a pleasant flick, but a terrifying revelation of what was truly to come. He started trembling hard, and his eyes flushed into focus. “That’s it. It’s actually true.”

“Lute?”

“He doesn’t plan on saving everyone. He can’t,” he said, breathing scarily. “I-is he causing this with the Mega Stone? Is he going to wipe out everyone not in Pokétopia by controlling the V-Wave?”

That state flicked Sophitia into the same mood. “We need to get to the others. _Now._”

In a flash, the red lights and the particles vanished, replaced briefly by a faded, sky blue light instead. Seconds later, all had returned to normal. Lights came back on, the gondolas were running again, and Lute’s breathing returned.

“The range of my salvation currently only extends to Pokétopia and the region surrounding it. I will do my utmost to spread it further, but you all must help me by gathering within it. And you must hurry, for the second wave of this rapture will be significantly harsher than the first. I will not be able to save the whole world, besides those who make it this far. So you must do absolutely everything you can to reach here and help as many Pokémon as possible,” Lassic said.

…

“Riots have been reported in towns all across Aseria. Even some parts of Pokétopia are reporting record-high levels of aggression from the locals. Meanwhile, those red lights haven’t left anywhere else. The number of Pokémon being hospitalised is rising by the second,” Athens said. His eyes were glued to a computer screen and his paws moved at light speed, tapping away at whatever he was doing. “The common facts in the reports are that the red lights are stopping Pokémon from using their powers. No attacks or abilities are working, and many Pokémon are struggling to breathe. Machines also aren’t functioning. Gondolas are frozen, doors are fixed shut, and more.”

“So it’s just like what happened to you, the struggling to breathe thingy,” Sophitia said. Lute nodded.

“These red lights, this ‘rapture’, is all over Aseria right now. It’s all well and good that Lassic has told us all to congregate here, but there’s no way we’ll fit the entire population within the dome. With the gondola system down and Pokémon unable to use their powers, there will be millions incapable of making the trip. This is a surprisingly flawed plan for Lassic,” Athens said.

“But I don’t get it. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why is this happening?” Marina said. “Lute, Sophitia. Does this have anything to do with your legend?”

“Not in the slightest! Unless you count his using of the Mega Stone,” Naivie said, fluttering around. “He’s causing this, but we can straight up stop him if we just go to the Mega Stone and beat him up, right?”

“That’s the spirit. And we have Genesis, too. So we can get there!” Esther cheered. “Genesis, where’s the Mega Stone?”

“I guess I have to get used to you all calling me that now, huh?” the Meowstic replied, rolling her eyes. “I underestimated him, though. He got there very quickly, and learnt how to harness and control the V-Wave faster than I expected.”

“That’s Lassic for you. Always proficient when it’s for himself,” Kuri said.

“If it really is Lassic, then just why? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Marina said, becoming anxious. “Why cause all of this? Why make Pokémon suffer? I thought he wanted to use the V-Wave to help Pokémon?”

“And that’s what he intends to do. The rapture must be something that we simply cannot stop, but survive, as Pokémon. Like he said, he’s doing everything he can to help us,” Athens said. “Him being at the Mega Stone is what gives us this chance to survive the rapture. He only ever intended to get it so that he had a source of unlimited V-Waves.”

“Gods, you really believe that?” Genesis said. Her face was livid. “He’s got you idiots eating out of his paws.”

“Your comments are meaningless, now. Let’s see… a small portion of the fields outside of Pokétopia are functioning, so we can still use the gondolas for a little while. We’ll have to spread agents to the different regions carefully, and have them aid in the evacuation of Pokémon. We can have our construction workers make shelters to expand Pokétopia as well,” Athens said, returning to his computer.

“Wait are you serious? We’re not just gonna go after the Mega Stone?” Esther cried.

“Of course not. If Lassic really is there, then it is best not to disturb him,” Athens said, not even looking at her. Lute and friends exchanged shocked glances.

“Athens,” Marina said, her eyes shut. Her tone made him pause. “Who is the one that we agreed was in charge now?”

“… You,” he said, stepping away.

“So please don’t go creating disagreements within our group. King’s Shield functions on a cooperative effort, not an offensive one,” she said, jumping on the table. Her face was stern and furious. “I don’t know what to believe. Lassic and the rest of our group were great friends to me. But as things stand, I need to know the truth about everything going on. I believe that if Lassic is there by the Mega Stone and truly has control over V-Waves, then he should be able to prevent this sudden crisis he just reported.”

“That’s more like it. Some logical thinking,” Esther said, folding her arms.

“What would you have us do?” Phoenix said.

“All of us are to go to the Mega Stone. Every single agent and scientist. Kuri and Genesis, you as well,” she said, surprising everyone. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. So please, Genesis, where is the Mega Stone?”

There was another pause, mostly from the Meowstic hesitating. “You’re going to find that difficult. The area is dense with V-Waves, only those connected to the Ancients could get near.”

“Well, Lassic has supposedly found a way after you diverged the information to him. So tell us, and we can do the same,” Marina said. Genesis sighed. “I know, this is pretty sacred information that you and your family have had to keep secret from since time immemorial. But now we face—”

“I know, you don’t need to get all deep and convoluted on me. I already told the Spirle King to stop myself from getting tortured. You there, Meowstic,” Genesis said, turning to Athens. “Don’t you get it? I was the _only_ Pokémon in existence who knew where the Mega Stone was. I only told the _Spirle King_. Now, Lassic is supposedly there and all of this crisis with an apparent rapture is happening. Why would he be there when I only told one other totally unrelated Pokémon?”

Athens mouthed a response, but his face turned fierce and his paws clenched. Genesis cleared her throat and fixed her neck fur. “Exactly. The evidence is piled up so much that we have enough to make this information public. But the way Lassic has built up this world, even if we do, no one would even listen to you guys.”

“You’re derailing. Hurry up and tell us where the damn stone is!” Esther said. Genesis hesitated. “Genesis!”

“You know, I don’t think I really care anymore. I’ve spent way too long trying to protect this world. I told him in hopes he would understand enough not to tamper with it, but here we are, on the verge of his rapture,” she said, shutting her eyes. “The Mega Stone is in the centre of Planet Aseria. It is the planet’s core.”

“The… core?” Sophitia said, tilting her head.

“That’s right. There source of all V-Waves wells that energy up through the planet and expels it through giant flowers connected directly to it. It is the source of all energy on the planet, the very stability of the planet itself, the thing keeping everything held together,” she said. “Tamper with that stone, and only the gods know what will happen.”

“If it’s in the core of the planet, then doesn’t that mean it’s in Moand Dia,” Marina said, hanging her head.

“Precisely. Only those connected to the Ancients could go,” Genesis said.

“You really gave up?” Kuri said. “But what about rebuilding Angard? And our future. If you give up, the whole world will die.”

“Lassic pretty much made everything public. If we go down there and take him down, we’re still against the whole world. Even if we win, we will never be able to live in the peace we want,” she said, hanging her head as well. “You know how much that hurts, Kuri. This world doesn’t deserve us and the effort we’ve put into protecting it. It’ll destroy itself even without our efforts.”

“Will you guys stop?” Lute shouted, stepping forward. “We’ll go. And we’ll stop this rapture. Whatever the truth is about what’s really going on, what matters now is that the world’s in danger and we’re Pokémon who can save it. So we’re going to save it and we’re going to do our best to do that, no matter how hard it looks!”

“He’s right, you know. Sooner or later, Pokémon are gonna have to swallow their guts and see the truth about the world Lassic created for them. And when that happens, they’ll see that you guys were right. You guys will get to live in peace, like you’ve always wanted,” Sophitia said. “And besides, a lot more’s been done than you realise. We finished growing those Ancient Flowers, you know.”

“Wait, you’ve done that? All four of them?” Kuri and Genesis gasped together.

“Yep. The world can go back to being the ancient world it was supposed to be whenever we give Naivie the A-OK. But we don’t wanna do it right away, not while Pokémon are still relying on technology so much. It’s a little complicated, but we’re already on track to making everything better. Pokémon will have to listen to us, in which we can put you on the platform you need to tell everyone the truth,” Sophitia said. “But before we can do any of that, we need to stop Lassic’s rapture. So let’s stop wasting time and get going to Aseria’s core!”

“And this isn’t anything any of us can be scared of. We’re all in, aren’t we? Let’s do our part and actually be the heroes of Aseria,” Lute said. Kuri and Genesis exchanged glances, and a cheeky smile went on their faces. Kuri shrugged while Genesis giggled, pinching him.

“I guess it is that easy, isn’t it? I’m definitely curious to see how far you’ll carry those words. So that’s it – I’m counting on you now, Lute. I’ll make sure we can get there quickly,” Genesis said. “I told the Spirle King where the stone was, but I didn’t tell them exactly how to get there. We do it using the Teleportals.”

“Are we going right now?” Infia said.

“Yes, if the lot of you are ready. The Teleportals are all interconnected, but each of them leads to somewhere in Moand Dia. Whether it’s the temples or the places outside the temples or whatever, if you can properly command the Teleportals, you can go anywhere,” Genesis said.

“And you can do that?” Infia said.

“Of course I can. I’m princess, aren’t I?” she said, winking.

“Princess,” Infia muttered, holding her skirt.

“What, you thinking something naughty?” Esther said.

“No! C’mon Esther, now’s not the time,”

“You guys were off to save Genesis, now you’re going back down there to stop the rapture. I feel awful for relying on you so much, but it’s all we can do now,” Marina said. “Lute, Sophitia, everyone else. Please be careful.”

“Hey, you guys have to be more careful. That red stuff really pinned down Lute. So don’t do anything crazy until we stop Lassic, ‘kay?” Sophitia said. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to suffer again. We’ll bring Lassic back here alive, I promise.”

“Sophitia,” Lute muttered. Marina didn’t reply, and her face remained straight.

“What? It’s true, just like Esther says. We’re gonna beat that guy up and drag him back here if we have to. We’re all in this, aren’t we?” she said, smiling eagerly.

“If that red stuff is all over Aseria and it does turn out to be his fault, then of course! I dunno what this is gonna be like, but it can’t be any tougher than the other Spirle battles. And to be honest, a trip to the planet’s core might give me some crazy inspiration, so I’m already looking forward to the trip,” Esther said, pumping her fists.

“You have to admire that enthusiasm. But this is not a simple mission to a new locale. Please do not do anything reckless,” Phoenix said. “Do not think this is an act of vengeance in any way. But I do wish to see Lassic brought to justice for everything he has done. For everything he and Spirle have taken away from me. And for everything they have taken away from everyone else affected by them.”

“I’m in this. I’ve come too far to stop now. And if I’m one of the only Pokémon that can go to Moand Dia, then that means I have to go, doesn’t it? It would be selfish of me not to,” Infia said.

“Spoken without any uncertainty. Infia, you’ve really come into your own,” Lute said, to which she blushed and started playing with one of her pigtails. “Sophitia, you didn’t need to ask if we were ready. Like I said before, you can count on us. So don’t feel like you have to do everything yourself, okay?”

“Yeah… you’re right,” she said, smiling warmly at him. She had to look for Genesis and Kuri, surprised to find them already stood on the Teleportal.

“You guys really are kids. But something about that just gets me going too, fills me with confidence about this,” she said, waving at them. “It’s you guys who’ll be keeping up with us, I hope you understand that.”

“Oh is this a race now, is it? I hope you’re not underestimating me,” Sophitia said, smugly trotting over.

“What is with you today?” Lute sighed.

“If she’s challenging us to a battle, then we’ll show her who’s boss.”

“She’s not challenging us; she’s just saying not to underestimate her. We know how strong Kuri is already.”

“Oh Lute, someday you’ll understand grownup language,” Sophitia said, giggling. And then they were off in a beam of light.


	31. This Is Who I Am

The planet’s core. A Teleportal that led to the core of Planet Aseria. Now that the group had fallen quiet and were concentrating on flying through the light stream of the Teleportal, he had time to think. It really started to soak in, the ludicrousness of what he was getting into. Heading into the direct centre of the planet in order to fight a crazed Pokémon and stop it from wiping out all life.

If he was still the same Pokémon he was before he met Sophitia, this idea wouldn’t have even crossed his mind during his dreams and imaginations. And if he had the opportunity, not only would he turn it down, but Mum would most certainly say no in the harshest, most frightening way possible. The thought made him cringe and sneak a glance at Sophitia. She was facing forward and focused, looking the coolest she had looked in a while.

He faced forward, too. He had to concentrate. This place was probably going to be worse than the strange red particles that drained his breath before. He had to be ready to brave the harshest conditions ever, the perilous unknowns of the world inside of the planet. When they landed, he instantly spread his feet apart and scanned the area, darting to the side in expectation of something.

“Wait, we’re back here?” he said, raising an eyebrow. Genesis had just taken them back to Spirle’s hidden base.

“The Teleportal we need is in the depths of this place. It’s a special one that only we of the royal family could activate. It doesn’t even look like a Teleportal, you know,” Genesis said, walking fast. “Funnily enough, Kuri was registered to it, too. We did it, even though we didn’t tell you where it is.”

“When? Gonna take a wild guess and say it wasn’t important until now,” Kuri said.

“It was and it wasn’t. This scenario right here is exactly why we did it in secret,” Genesis said.

“Okay, so we’ve got a little time. Tell us about this,” Esther said, tucking her arms behind her head.

“The royal families of the Ancients had their own network of Teleportals built for their personal use, and each one was only ever to be used in very special situations. These ones led directly between the castles and palaces across Aseria. The public never knew about them, but it’s how we maintained such a vast and connected world,” she said, slowing down a little. “Every kingdom had one that led to the centre of the planet. But they weren’t all for important trips and the like.”

Lute already had questions. The way she talked, it was as if she was used to using these things. It was hard to picture the Teleportal being a casual method of transportation for Pokémon, considering the average Pokémon even today didn’t know about them. In fact, before Sophitia, even King’s Shield could barely activate one with their machinery.

“Kuri, remember our honeymoon the night we got married?” Genesis said.

“How could I forget that? That was the day we figured out what your father was doing when he allowed us to get married,” he said. “He sent us to that greenhouse-type place. But in reality, it was an underground shelter. From there, we had full view of Lassic as he rained his meteors upon Angard. It was less of a honeymoon and more of a frightening revelation that your father had already resigned himself to the destruction of Angard.”

“If he had a Teleportal leading to another kingdom or inside the planet, why didn’t he just transport everyone there? He could’ve saved everyone,” Sophitia said.

“The other kingdoms had already been reduced to rubble. Drained of their V-Waves by his weaponry, and then smothered in meteors of fire. The only way to deal with this devil was to confront him head on, like we’re doing now,” Genesis said. The question had caused her tone to sharpen, and she sped back up.

It was no different to the Spirle base now, Lute thought. It was in worser condition than when they initially went through, where the flames that had been raging had eaten through basically everything in the area until there was little left. The shape of tables, computers, pipes, and more was all that remained, but all of it was charcoal black and crusty to the touch. Ash tickled his nose and he almost felt like the air was still smoky.

“The Teleportal doesn’t lead directly to the Mega Stone, but a mystery dungeon that leads to it. There’s only one Teleportal there too, and all the ones from all the kingdoms link directly to that one,” Genesis said. “Being inside the planet though, there aren’t any Pokémon to worry about. The biggest danger is the storm of electricity that orbits the core.”

“Electricity doesn’t come from the ground, does it? Why is there a storm inside the planet?” Esther said.

“You’ll see it for yourself soon. The best advice I can give you about the mystery dungeon is that there are a lot of pathways that lead directly into the storm, but if you encounter such a pathway, then you need to turn around and find another direction. You shouldn’t even need to walk directly into the storm,” Genesis said.

“I’m so nosy now. I wanna touch it,” Esther said, giggling. Infia rolled her eyes.

“Good luck trying not lose an arm, then. The Inner Storms are no joke,” Genesis said.

Esther’s squeak of surprise made Lute smile, but he remained focused. They reached the depths of the base now, the area where they fought Project Dragonlord. Nothing of it remained, not a single speck of mud or slime. He sighed, continuing onward. They went past the iron door she was behind, where the cave went even deeper.

Everything onward was even more hastily dug than the area leading up to it, and without the support of lamps or tools, the cave was dangerous to walk through. There was no attempt to keep the floor flat, the overall space of the cave was inconsistent, and much of the rocks were broken all over the place and had to be climbed over. Kuri and Genesis jumped up quickly, while Lute and the others helped each other climb. Infia glowed with Flash just to keep the place lit.

“My hunch was right on the money. This base was built right on top of the kingdom, but they didn’t actually know the underground passage was here. Kuri, if you please,” Genesis said, stopping and folding her arms. He looked back and forth between her and the way forward, and raised an eyebrow. “The wall, right here. Are you awake?”

“In case you never noticed, I’m not psychic,” he said, tensing up his fists. Needle Arm surrounded them, and with a forceful cry and a punch, down the wall went. It crumbled to reveal a far neater cave, one with a square corridor.

“Wow, that’s so cool. There really is a secret passage way. She really is a princess,” Infia said, her eyes gleaming.

“What’s with you and her being a princess? You’re so giddy today,” Esther said.

“She’s a magic princess. It’s really awesome,” she said, twiddling her feet.

Genesis didn’t offer any comments, though. She just jumped through and led everyone down the hallway. The transformation between this hallway and the cave they were just in earnt gasps and curious eyes, even from Kuri. The hallway was in a state of decay from lack of use, but having a fancy red carpet and aged paintings of patterns on the walls made it miles more welcoming.

“It really is a totally untouched hallway. There’s stairs, too,” Sophitia said, pointing. Stairs that led into a place filled with collapsed rubble. There were quite a few of these down the hall, and a couple even had signs on the outside which were still readable.

At the end of the hallway was the Teleportal they needed. It wasn’t a platform, but a small metal room closed off by decaying curtain. It was clearly supposed to be a shiny material too, but it was rusting on the outside.

“Oh my. I hope this thing still works,” Lute said.

“Of course it still works. Don’t underestimate ancient technology. Unlike Lassic’s little toys, a couple generations of no maintenance ain’t gonna break it,” Naivie said. The group let Genesis check it out first, and then she poked her head out and nodded, an eager smile on her face.

“Oh wow. It actually works. Okay, now the action really begins!” Esther said, skipping forward.

Lute let the others walk in first, having his chest tighten up in anticipation. That didn’t stop him from noticing Sophitia’s hesitation though, as the Sylveon stopped moving entirely. “Everything okay?”

“L-Lute… th-that thing looks… familiar,” she whispered, staring at the metal room. He glanced back and forth between them, and then flinched.

“Does it bring back any memories? Any idea at all?”

“No. Nothing,” she said, looking away. “I dunno why I feel this way, I shouldn’t. It just seems like something I’ve seen before… it’s making me scared for some reason.”

“Sophitia,” he sighed.

“Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. Let’s stop wasting time and finish this,” she said, smiling eagerly. She leapt into the room, leaving the concerned Lute to wander in.

Inside wasn’t anything special, just an empty box walled by the metallic material. From in here, Lute realised that the whole box was made of the same material as the Teleportals. With the same arm movements as always, Genesis activated it, causing the walls to brighten and rumble. The room filled with light, and in a flash, the team vanished.

He fell back into focus and repeated his thoughts from before. He was prepared for anything, mostly the worst, and immediately braced himself upon landing in the next area. He scouted out immediately, restless at the uncomfortable chill that greeted them.

This was definitely the Inner Storms. Cracked, rocky ground that looked like a mountain path, hung suspended in a space of distant darkness. Far away from them, a swirling, fluctuating stream of booming lightning circled the world, constantly visible. They arrived via a room identical to the one they used to teleport.

“It’s fine,” Lute muttered slowly, testing his breath. He looked around at everyone, who had split up briefly to survey the area. It looked easy. They landed on a circular platform that sloped in a zigzag pattern into the depths of the storm, where a distant gleam awaited them. That gleaming was of multiple different colours, and was sat in the middle of a cave. The Mega Stone.

“This is all you, Gen hun,” Kuri said, pointing ahead.

“Can’t believe this is what the inside of the planet looks like. I dunno why, I was seriously expecting lava and crystal and stuff, or something,” Sophitia said.

“Well I’d rather this,” Esther said.

“But I’d rather something more chaotic, too!” a childish voice said, making everyone freeze up. Without instruction, the group shuffled together back to back, gazing around for their spy. That set off their childish laughter, and then Lute finally recognised what was happening.

“Tetra?” he called out. Surely enough, the giggly Klefki spun into appearance, blocking the one path forward.

“Wowee wow, you remembered my name,” Tetra said. “It’s been such a long time, heroes. I must have left a pretty lasting impression. That makes me really happy, you know.”

“Oh great, it’s him. Well I forgot this guy counted as a High Point,” Sophitia said.

“Figures the underlings would show up to block the way. We don’t have time for this, though. Let’s mow him down and push through!” Kuri said. Everyone nodded.

“Oh you must be joking if I’m going to allow you to just, fight me. I’m super intrigued because you guys made it all the way here. I was sure nobody could make it this far, but here we are. Anybody strong enough to make it here is sure enough to give me a Wailord of a time,” Tetra said, jiggling his keys. His posh voice quickly angered the group. “And I’m sure that you, Lutey, are just itching to show me how powerful you are now that you can use your powers properly. But I can’t. If you wanna show me, then you’ve gotta reach me, first!”

Eyebrows raised as he all he seemed to be doing for a moment was laughing aloud and jiggling his keys. He eventually released a burst of air, which only set him off laughing even more. It made everybody flinch, and then a moment later, the floor split apart into countless pieces.

“A-ah, guys!” Lute cried, bracing himself to stay standing. His plans quickly changed when the floor began to tilt and he scrambled to hang on to the edge.

“Gen!” Kuri shouted, slipping off his part. Lute could only stick out a paw in shock.

The floor pieces all began to drift apart, slowly flipping and twisting. Everyone cried out and held on to individual bits, but Genesis let go of hers to float using her psychic. She caught Kuri with the same powers, and the two of them flew towards Tetra, arms drawn back with attacks held at the ready.

“Wha-what? Hold on—” Tetra squealed as he was struck head on by Needle Arm and Shadow Ball. Both attacks pierced his thin metal body, and a hard burst of energy exploded on impact and shook what remained of the area. Tetra quickly regenerated, but the duo hung onto him, making him shake crazily to try and get rid of them. The sudden uneven weight had him squealing and cursing as Kuri and Genesis dragged him everywhere,

“Aah, Sophitia! Hold on!” Lute cried, struggling to look around at everyone. He gasped and lost his words, not realising what was actually happening until it was too late. Whatever Tetra had done, the world around him was beginning to warp and change right before his eyes – and not because he was hanging from a rotating platform. Floors actually became ceilings and walls, the stream of lightning went from circling the dungeon to weaving through it, and the broken platforms his friends were holding onto were nowhere in sight.

Before he could cry about it, one final gush of wind struck him hard, so hard that he felt his paws slip and his heart jump. Lute held on with all his might, but it was like he was being yanked by the grip of a thousand arms on his tail and his back. He was ripped from his post, sent spinning through the air. All he could do was cry at the top of his voice, kicking his paws aimlessly while darkness took over everything.

…

Time passed. Infia wasn’t sure how long, but she dreaded to think it was a few hours or something. However long it was, her costume was scruffy and her body felt groggy. That didn’t deter her however, as once she realised where she was, she knew she had to put up with it.

Lightning streaked across the pitch-black background, crossing between floating islands and debris at a chaotic level of random. A strong, bone chilling wind ruffled her fur almost constantly. The crusty floor felt like it was going to break apart at any moment. She tried to ignore it all as she shook Esther, crying out her name desperately to wake her up. She had been awake and doing this for all of a couple minutes, and only now started to get a result.

“Esther! Esther please, wake up!” she cried as loudly as she could. The Pikachu squirmed and rolled onto her front, lazily mumbling something. “For goodness sake Esther, now is _not_ the time to be a goofball!”

“Alright alright, gods, quit being such a drama queen,” she gurgled, squirming onto her back again. She stretched, scratched, and patted herself a few times before opening her eyes, where she gave Infia a dozy smile. “Mornin’. What brings you to wake me?”

Infia’s face flushed with angry heat, and she puffed up her cheeks. “Esther, please wake up already.”

“What’s got you so worked up – oh. Oh. Holy shit,” she said, sitting up. She couldn’t stop gawking. “Oh gods, right, we were doing that stuff in the world’s core or something, right? Oh my gods I’m so sorry, I dunno how the hell I fell asleep!”

“It’s okay. Just, ah, w-we need to find a way out. Please help me find way out,” Infia said, turning to look around. As far as she could tell, there was no pathway at all. Just floating rock islands and a booming stream of lightning.

“O-kay, let’s see what we got. Gimme a minute,” she said, still on the floor. She stretched and grumbled a bit, making noises so strange that it was embarrassing, even given their situation. She soon kicked herself to her feet, and then walked on all fours to survey their surroundings. “There. We need to get down there, ‘cos that’s where that Mega Stone thingy is, right?”

“Huh?” Infia replied, going blank. She realised that Esther was pointing to the gleaming, rainbow coloured light straight ahead of them. A giant abyss of darkness sat before them, and the light was obscured by the floating debris. “How are we going to get there?”

“We got through everything we’ve gotten through so far, and now you’re gonna ask that?”

“We should try and escape, though. The others are separated from us.”

“So we’ll meet them before the final showdown. That’s how these things work, duh,” Esther said, rolling her eyes.

“O-kay. And if we get there before them?”

“Then we stall for time. We can do that much, surely.”

“And if they left without us?”

“Then fuck them! Cowards.”

“Esther, this is serious! How are we even going to get there?”

“And I’m being serious. We’ll get there like,” Esther said, a finger on her lip as she gazed around. “Okay. I’ve got a route. C’mere.”

“Uh,” was all Infia could mutter before she was scooped up by the Pikachu. She squeaked and went stiff, making it easy for her to be positioned on Esther’s back, where she instinctively wrapped her arms around and clutched the Pikachu’s front.

“You’re really light, you know that? But yeah, just, hang on tight baby!” Esther said, cocking a smile.

Infia could only moan in angst. She knew what was about to happen, yet she didn’t think that Esther was actually going to go through with it. But Quick Attack was charged, and still she kept telling herself otherwise. And then they launched into a sprint, and her heart jumped out of her chest.

She screamed and held on even tighter as Esther leapt high into the air, even doing a flip and shouting out with the momentum they had built up. They landed on the side of one of the floating bits of rock, where Esther kept using Quick Attack to run along the surface of it. She leapt off once they reached the end, once again crying out in effort. They hung from another island, where she pulled herself up and sprinted into another jump.

Like this, Esther carried Infia from portion of rock to portion of rock. At first it was clear where to go, but it soon descended into jumps in random directions in some attempt to get somewhere. They travelled in the general direction of the glowing light, and it felt like it was getting tougher and tougher as they went on. But equally, Infia began to get a hold of herself, stopping her squeals in place of quick breaths and focused eyesight.

“The lightning!” she shouted, pointing at the stream they were getting dangerously close to. But Esther was in the middle of a sprint, and looked as though she might run directly into it.

“Shit,” Esther whispered, frantically searching for some other foothold. There was one to their left, which she could use to reverse and find flat ground. She jumped without a second thought, but as soon as her feet touched it, the rock broke apart, sending the duo into a freefall.

She had a moment to react, and a million thoughts ran through her mind as Infia broke back into deafening screams. She didn’t know what to aim for at all, but she pulled out her ribbon baton and snapped it, praying for the best. The ribbon stretched out and latched to something, stopping their momentum so hard it hurt.

“That’s it. Hold on!” she said, following through with the way it bounced them. They were swinging with a good amount of speed, and brushed past another island as their momentum caused them to ascend. She ran across the surface to build up even more speed. With one arm holding onto the baton, which was latched to the lightning stream, she was literally running up the underside of a broken island, moving so fast that everything around them became a blur. When they reached the edge of the island, Esther threw herself off with all the strength she could muster, flying up into the air with a triumphant roar.

They were speeding through the air for what must have been over five or ten seconds, landing with a painful crash that shook their bodies. Infia lost her grip and rolled away, while Esther lost her voice to gasps of pain, skipped a dozen metres, and then tripped so hard that she did a full forward roll. It hurt worse than a splinter, but surely enough, they were on flat ground.

“Ha ha, heck yeah! Eat that, Inner Storms. Pikachu can fly too!” Esther cheered, raising a fist. She was stuck on her back for a little while, catching her breath. It was only when she started patting the floor beside her that she realised that Infia wasn’t there. “Oh my gods, Infia?”

“O-over here,” the Minun squeaked. She was further away than expected, but she looked okay, stood up and holding her skirt down.

“Oh thank fuck. Yeah that got a little outta control,” Esther said, giggling.

“Wa-wait!” Infia gasped, freezing up. Esther tilted her head while she patted herself all over, even lifting her skirt. “I-I-I’m dry. I-I didn’t wet. S-s-somehow, I didn’t wet.”

“Oh right, that stuff. Well that’s good. You need a moment alone or something?”

“N-no! I’m fine,” she gasped, latching close to Esther. She quickly detached, becoming squeaky as usual. “I-I-I mean, ah… I’ll be fine. I don’t think I need to go or anything. I should be okay.”

“You sure? You don’t want something like that slowing you down when things get tough,” Esther said, paws on her hips. Infia shook her head. “Heh, man you’re still shy even after all this time. I really dunno why.”

“I can’t help it,” she replied, realising that Esther was walking off. The island they were on qualified as an actual island, unlike the tiny platforms they just jumped off. It had a steep hill, but the floor was smooth and hard.

“I guess I don’t really get it. I would understand if I was still a performer and you were still a superfan, but I’m not. You’ve gotten to know the real me for months now,” Esther said, tucking her paws behind her head.

“Y-yeah. Sure. It’s nothing to do with being leagues below the surface in the middle of the planet,” Infia said. Esther’s ears perked up.

“See? There we go, that’s the kinda remark I grew to love about ya. You can talk like you, but then you still get all antsy and squirmy,” she said. Her face went straight and she slowed down all of a sudden, confusing the Minun. “Hey, sorry to drop the serious stuff all of a sudden but, we’re heading into a pretty big deal. I know I said I don’t fully get what’s going on, and I still don’t, but I do know we’re going up against Spirle’s king.”

“Yeah. We need to be ready for anything. I know. With you at my side, I know we can stall until the others get here. I believe that now,” Infia said, putting on her bravest look.

“Well not that, but… look, I’m not trying to second thoughts this, but something could happen, y’know? And if it does, it’s better not to have anything you wanna say left hanging around in your head,” she said, turning to face the Minun in the eyes. Infia gawked a bit, and her eyes started to sparkle. “So yeah. If there’s anything you wanna say that’s important, get it outta the way now.”

“I,” was all Infia could mutter. Her eyes wavered left and right, and she couldn’t keep her head straight. She looked up and gulped, her breathing becoming soft. “There’s nothing. I’m fine. I’m ready for this.”

“Really? That’s a relief, ‘cos I dunno what would happen if you didn’t get to tell Lute how much you liked him or something. But if you’re that confident we’ll live to see him again—”

“What is with everyone and shipping me with Lute?” Infia snapped. “Yes I had feelings for him at one point, but that was nasty. I didn’t believe I was worth anything other than to serve Pokémon, all thanks to Mum. I wanted to just give up my life for Lute, ‘cos he was the first one who was patient enough to actually be friends with me.”

“Yeah, see? He’s a special kinda guy for ya. Ha, he tore me to shreds and I’m never gonna let him live it down, but that doesn’t mean you have to not be with him.”

“I don’t have those kinds of feelings for him anymore, though. And not because of the whole V-Pocket thingy. Those feelings for Lute were built off my immaturity. I want to be with- I mean – I want to just live happily more than anything right now.”

“Aha, I heard that! There’s someone you want to be with,” Esther sung, squeezing her cheeks. “Is it Fluffy Cheeks? Please tell me it’s Fluffy Cheeks!”

“What? No! I didn’t even say that. I—” Infia said, pouting at her. She froze. She had to remember who she was talking to. “What about you? Do you have anything you want to say?”

“Me? Uh, which one do you want? The normal one or the TMI?” Esther said.

“The normal one, please! Or whichever’s most important?” she said, slapping her face.

“Well uh,” Esther said, prodding her fingers together. She started walking ahead again, albeit slowly. “I dunno if you’ve noticed or not, but I had to use one of your nappies the other day. I’ve been stealing them for a while to keep in case of emergencies, but the other day I actually had to use—”

“Esther, what in the world? I said to tell me the normal one!” Infia squealed, going bright red.

“That is the normal one!”

“Argh, that’s gross and- why are you so dang weird!” she cried.

“That’s not weird, it’s practical! Look I was kinda thrown into this journey business, you know? I’m used to having restroom access whenever I want, but Naivie really pushed us!” Esther said. “Fuck it. I’ll tell you the other one, since they’re both important.”

“This is less heartfelt and more embarrassing, and it’s not even about me,” Infia whined, slumping forward. Esther leaned over and whispered something in her ear, which immediately perked her up. She started blushing deeply, too. “Wha? Really?”

Esther nodded. “Please keep that a secret, though. I’m trusting you with that as a symbol of our bond. ‘Cos when we get outta this, we’re gonna be performers together.”

“You… why did… I just,” she whispered. Esther didn’t look bothered at all, and even snickered at her. “Yeah. We’ll get through this, and I-I’ll do my best. To keep up with you.”

“Ha, I’m not gonna be teaching you much. If your Revelation Dance is anything to go by, it’s gonna be me trying to keep up with you,” Esther said, laughing.

The hill they were on evened out at the peak, surprising the duo with what awaited them. Here was a huge, circular space, all flat and walled by short mounds in the shape of pyramids. The floor was flat, coloured a wine red and marked out with black cracks that almost looked like ancient markings carved into it. Directly ahead of them was a thin path that led directly into the rainbow coloured light they had been heading towards.

But staring at them were two large, rounded, pink Pokémon. Infia recognised one of them as an Aromatisse, the evolved form of Spritzee. Thanks to this particular Aromatisse’s rugged horns and peculiar fragrance, she didn’t need to be told who they were.

“Mum,” Infia whispered, immediately locking eyes with the Pokémon. Victoria was just as surprised, sat on a portable stall and frozen with wide eyes.

“Wait, then that means – oh brother. It’s you,” Esther said, slumping forward.

“It’s you!” the other Pokémon cried, his voice high pitched and excited. He was short and a little snowman shaped, but very flabby and quite friendly looking. A red ball sat on top of round, pink, smooth fluff resembling hair which covered most of his head. His eyes were hollow and red, not in an intimidating way. Altogether, he looked like a walking cake.

“Tetra wasn’t kidding. They actually got here somehow. But even after they rearranged the mystery dungeon,” Victoria said, getting up. “Tetra darling! Be a dear and get rid of these pests, would you? They refuse to die.”

The two girls shifted back as Tetra descended from nowhere, confronting them with crazed laughter. He stopped very suddenly, and then got cross. “Wait a second, is it just you two?”

“That a problem?” Esther said, closing her fists.

“Yes. It’s severely disappointing. In fact, it’s a complete and utter waste of my time. It’s so unfunny, I can’t even laugh about it,” Tetra said, turning his back. “These two won’t be very fun to battle. I guess the mystery dungeon killed the others, ha. Whatever. You don’t need me for this.”

“What do you mean?” Victoria said.

“Are you deaf? Stupid? Do you not understand Pokémon? I said you don’t need me for this. The only Pokémon that would be entertaining for me to fight would be Lute, and he’s not here,” Tetra said, puffing out his cheeks.

“Those weren’t our orders. Our orders were to keep everyone away from the king—”

“Well I don’t care about some smug king’s orders. I joined Spirle to have a good time, and I’m not having one. If Lute doesn’t show up, I’m out of here for good.”

“You know what, I don’t blame ya. It sounds like things are getting pretty serious on the surface, and something tells me the king’s gonna pull a fast one on us,” Victor said. “Our villain work suddenly seems a little too villainous.”

“Will you bumbling fools shut up? We’re Spirle High Points, and we’re soon to rule all of Aseria with infinite power. That much is guaranteed. But if we don’t follow our orders, we can kiss that promise goodbye,” Victoria said, taking Tetra’s place. “It’s only a pop idol and that defective rodent. We can get this over with quickly.”

“Yeah, not like we’ve beaten your ass before. So what, you guys had to evolve to stand a chance?” Esther said.

“You beat us with a group, and under advantageous circumstances. But here, we are on level ground. You will see the superiority of Spirle High Points first-paw,” Victoria said.

“We don’t need the others to beat you. I’m stronger now!” Infia said, closing her fists.

“You? Don’t make me laugh,” Victoria said, her eyes squinting as if she was smiling. “Has your time away made you forget what you are?”

“I haven’t forgotten what you think I am. My time living has let me learn who I really am,” Infia said. “I-I’m a hero of Aseria. I can’t lose to Pokémon like you.”

“A hero? Aseria doesn’t have _heroes_, honey. It only has fools and leaders. Fools like your rabble need to understand who to respect, and know your place,” Victoria said.

“I know my place, it’s you who doesn’t know yours. You created me like I was some kind of possession, and as soon as I stopped obeying you like a servant, you didn’t want to know who I was. But you aren’t allowed to do stuff like that. And you didn’t know what I can really do.”

Victoria paused, putting her hands on her hips. “You couldn’t touch when I was a Spritzee, and you barely beat me with all of your pathetic friends doing the hard work for you. Now that I am evolved, and it’s just the two of you, what could you possibly hope to achieve?”

“See? You have no idea what I’ve been through, what I’ve survived. I can beat Risen, I can fight Silver, I grew the ancient flowers with everyone. I can beat you!” Infia said, psyching herself up. Victoria seemed to get angrier at everyone word, and unfurled her arms as Infia finished.

“Holy crap, you go girl! Give ‘em the biggest shock of her life,” Esther cheered, raising a fist. “Victor’s mine. We’ll take ‘em one on one.”

“You honestly believe that you can do beat me,” Victoria said, half-lidded. Infia was rigid. “Victor, stay back.”

“Don’t mock us,” Infia shouted, raising a paw. A mighty lightning bolt came straight down and struck her, surrounding her with a heavy wind and a yellow aura. With that aura around her, she began to twirl and dance, turning that light in a gleaming, crackling ball of electricity. In just a moment, Infia had turned herself into an explosive ball, which she fired at Victoria with a cry.

“Whoa!” Victor cried, sliding back as the ball hit. A horrible crackling explosion went off, and he had to shield his face.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Infia said, stomping a foot. She surrounded herself in Quick Attack, and came charging, turning her attack into Spark as she closed in on the Aromatisse. During her approach however, it suddenly occurred to her that Victoria hadn’t been floored despite the heavy hit, and in fact had the same face as when the battle started.

It worried her. It made her brace and cry out in the extra effort she put into her Spark attack. Victoria made no attempt to defend herself at all, letting Infia smash directly into her fluffy coat. The direct hit only sent Infia flying backwards, and scraped Victoria’s feet a bit.

“Wha-what?” Infia whispered, in disbelief. Victoria wasn’t damaged. Electricity merely grazed her. “Her illusions shouldn’t be working on me. How aren’t I doing any damage?”

“Uh oh,” Esther said, a paw by her mouth. Victoria didn’t say a thing. She just stared back, half-lidded and focused.

“I’m not done yet!” Infia cried, calling down lightning on herself again. This time she curled herself up and braced hard, gathering every last bit of power she could muster. With gritted fangs, a squeal of strain, and an erratic pose, she turned herself into a yellow arrow of light, and charged at her enemy. With all of that power, she shot ahead like a laser, a pulse of static bursting through the air the instant she launched. The attack exploded on impact as well, sending another wave of static-infused air across the battlefield. Infia recoiled back in an agonising daze, falling on her backside.

“That was my Wild Charge. That has to have done something,” she whimpered as Esther came to her aid. The two stared at the remaining dust cloud in angst, both gasping when it cleared to reveal Victoria totally unharmed. “N-no, h-how?”

Victoria had a dirty mark on her front where she had taken the attacks, and lazily brushed it clean. “It’s because you’re weak.”

“N-no, I-I’m not. I can’t be,” Infia whispered.

“It’s like I just told you. You’re a weak, defective V-Pocket failure that I should have gotten rid of an age ago. The fact that you truly believed that you could amount to anything at all is only an example of your defective traits.”

“Don’t listen to her, she’s talking shit,” Esther cried. But Infia looked terrified, still on the floor and resisting the urge to tear up.

“You weren’t born a Pokémon. You cannot grow. You cannot learn. Everything you think you’ve achieved was only possible because other Pokémon did it for you,” Victoria said.

“Well yeah? But what’s wrong with that? Friends are there to help one another out,” Esther said, glaring.

“She’s a useless V-Pocket. You could replace her with anyone and they would be infinitely more useful, even that bumbling sack of icing behind me,” Victoria said, cupping her hands. A pink light began to form between them, which grew fast. “I won’t even need my illusion powers to defeat you.”

Esther cursed and growled, shifting her way in front of Infia just as Victoria’s attack came out. The pink orb grew and burst into a rain of beams which spread all over the area, several of which looked as though they burned right through Esther. She was set off screaming and fell on one paw, her body left smouldering.

“It’s just like our king says. A Pokémon’s evolution determines its usefulness. You who have not evolved, and you, a defective product of our research, stood no chance in this world. But in this new world that Spirle will create, only useful Pokémon will ever exist. Useful Pokémon that obey their elders with the proper respect,” Victoria said, holding one arm forward. Another attack began to charge, a Moonblast this time.

“Oh boy, okay I fucked up with this one,” Esther said, taking a deep breath. She tried to force herself to her feet, only to wind up falling straight back. “U-uh, this is the point where Lute’s comes along and saves us at the last second, right?”

“Lute can’t protect us, he’s not here!” Infia cried. Esther gritted her fangs, quickly glancing between the Moonblast and Infia.

“Well then go and get him, I’ll keep ‘em busy!” she cried, rolling over onto all fours. Swirling her tail around, she brought up an Electro Ball attack.

“N-no, Esther, you’ll lose. You’ll die. I wanna protect you,” Infia whimpered.

“Don’t be stupid!” she argued, trying not to get distracted. The Moonblast was fired, and she forced herself to charge into it. She flipped over to slam the Electro Ball into the Moonblast, but there was clearly no competition in the clash – her attack dissolved into the pink blob, leaving Esther to take the full brunt. She screamed as a blast went off, sending her scraping across the floor.

“Esther!” Infia cried, tears rolling down her eyes. Esther forced herself to lift a paw, trying desperately not to stay grounded.

“Get- out of here, Infia. You’ve got too much to live for. Don’t risk your life for me. Get the others,” she struggled to growl. Infia sniffled and whimpered, terrified of seeing the Pikachu so beaten up. Her clothes had torn and her body was trembling in pain. “Hurry up!”

“I won’t.”

“Infia!”

“I love you too much to leave you to get killed here. Let me protect you too!” Infia cried. “We said we’d stall together if we had to. So let’s do it together!”

“Love me?” Esther said. Her face switched in an instant, and it looked as though she stopped breathing. “Me? Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously!” Infia said.

Another pause. Esther let out a heavy breath, and then looked like she started snickering. “Well shit. I thought Lute was dense, but I turned out to be denser, huh? What a way to go.”

“But it’s not over yet. I can still protect you. You’re right, I can,” Infia said, locking their paws together.

“This is pathetic,” Victoria said, holding another Moonblast. This one was larger than her head in size, requiring both hands to hold and throw. She spun to bowl it at the electric couple, its size engulfing them from her sight.

Infia and Esther kept their paws linked, practically cuddling each other in an effort to pull Esther to her feet. But as the attack came at them, Esther did her best to spin her body so that she would take the attack first, while Infia stiffened her pose on one foot to try and do the same. Like that, the duo hugged tighter than ever and braced for the worst, and then the magic happened. The instant before the attack hit, the duo glowed white and a field of their colours swirled around them.

Victoria dusted her hands off, shutting her eyes to avoid being blinded by the towering eruption of energy that came from her attack. But something wasn’t right. The tower lingered for an unnatural length of time, making her give in and stare at it. It continued to go on for long enough for her to raise an eyebrow. It was only when this eruption of light began to calm and a single silhouette was visible that she realised what had happened, and her eyes popped out of their sockets.

When the light cleared, a single Pokémon was left in place of the two girls. A tall, shapely mouse Pokémon with long, rabbit-like ears tipped with colours – its left ear was blue, while the right was black. It had cheek pouches similar to Pikachu that followed a similar multicolour scheme to the ears, its right cheek red while the left was blue with yellow minus mark on it. It was clothed in an elaborate shirt, an extra frilly tutu, and even underwear, all adorned with glittery pinks and purples. Its tail was lightning bolt shaped like Pikachu’s too, only tipped with blue minus signs.

“What the,” the Pokémon muttered, staring at its paws. “What just happened?”

She checked herself out while Victoria and Victoria gawked like cartoon characters, all the time muttering to herself. She tugged at her skirt and outlined her body with her paws, totally self-absorbed in her shape. “Oh gosh, this is a new one. Why am I so thick, and like, smooth and- oh gosh, my voice, it’s so adult. Did I, did we?”

“Uh Victoria, are you gonna tell me what just happened or not?” Victoria cried, dancing on his toes. “What is _that_? Where did it come from, and why does it look like the two Pokémon just like, fused?”

“Fused?” the Pokémon said, still feeling herself all over. Her paws went to the back of her head, where surely enough, Infia’s fur style was there, two long pigtails. “Oh my gosh. I did do it. What is this? I thought I couldn’t do it, but I did it.”

Victoria tried to calm down, but she couldn’t manage anything better than a gulp and a shift backward. “That’s exactly what this is. They fused.”

“We really did fuse?” the Pokémon gasped, smiling. “Aww yeah, this feels awesome! I finally exist, and my debut is kicking you guys’ asses?”

“My V-Pocket experiment. Project Subtraction. That’s what Infia was,” Victoria said, her face blank as she stumbled forward. “It was a designed to be a soldier that could support a stronger Pokémon in combat. Being made of V-Waves, she was able to physically take away part of her body to heal or power up another with Helping Hand. But the main purpose was to combine her whole body structure with a living Pokémon, exponentially increasing their abilities due to the absurd amount of waves a V-Pocket is made of.”

“Er, can you put it in for dummies terms?” Victor said, dumbfounded.

“Infia was a V-Pocket that could fuse. I thought she was useless because she couldn’t fuse, no matter what I did with her. But here she is, fusing with that Pikachu pop star. And now their powers are immeasurable!” she shouted.

“Immeasurable, huh? So it really is enough to kick your ass?” the Pokémon said. “It’d be a shame if I didn’t have a proper name for you to remember it by, though.”

“Do not get cocky. I created you. I know the limits to your power,” Victoria said, forming another Moonblast. “Victor, get in gear! We’ll destroy her together.”

“Oh boy, I didn’t think my first act’d be a threesome. But that means it’s extra special,” the Pokémon said, tapping her chin. She didn’t look like she was paying attention, making Victoria growl. The Moonblast was thrown, but the fusion deflected it almost effortlessly by slapping it away with an electric infused palm. “The fusion doesn’t quite have a smooth ring to it. How about Ultimate Esther? Nah, I’m not just Esther though.”

“Ha, you really are cocky,” Victor said, charging toward them. He was unexpectedly fast, and his small fists and feet glowed white in preparation for a Play Rough attack.

“Well, I am part Esther, part Infia, so I guess, something cool that they could come up with. Something cool and cute,” the Pokémon said, making easy work of Victor’s crazed attacks. Victor was faster than a blur, attempting to tackle, punch, or kick the fusion several times over. Each attack was dodged with ease, the fusion merely stepped aside while continuing to mumble to herself.

“Gah, will you sit still a second so I can maul ya?” Victor cried. He was tripped up by the fusion suddenly pulling out a glowing ribbon baton from her chest pocket.

“Okay, fudge it. All the cool names are copyrighted, so I’ll just stick with: Esthia,” she said, beginning to dance with her baton. She booted Victor up high, and then revealed a second baton, spinning them both around in her paws. The ribbons curled around the batons and turned them into glowsticks, which then sparked with electricity. She put both palms together and punched Victoria as he fell from the earlier kick.

“So, how do you like it? I’m Esthia, the fused mouse Pokémon!” Esthia said, cupping her paws behind her head. She danced a little, giving the two fairies a half-lidded look.


	32. This Is Who We Are - PART 1-

“It’s crazy scary to think about. He rearranged the terrain of the Inner Storms right before our eyes,” Kuri said. He was on Phoenix’s back while Lute was on Sophitia’s back, and the duo leapt across the broken debris, closely followed by Genesis who flew with her psychic.

“I wasn’t expecting this. His mastery over V-Waves is truly not to be underestimated on any level,” Genesis said, floating next to them. “I made a grave error in giving into Spirle and leading them here. I honestly didn’t think he would figure out how to work with the Mega Stone this quickly.”

“Well he wouldn’t have stalled us like this if he really knew how to use it all. He already knew how to rid the world of mystery dungeons, so really and truly, he’s done nothing new so far. Besides the rapture,” Sophitia said, concentrating on where she was descending to. They were headed for the rainbow light, and now that they were close, could see powerful clashes of electricity sparking from the area in front of it.

“You did what any sane Pokémon in your position would do. Things have played out the way they have thanks to all of our efforts,” Phoenix said. “Do not beat yourself up about it.”

“Hmpf. If only it were easy to feel that way, Phoenix,” Genesis said. “That must be Esther and Infia.”

“Wow, they got there first,” Lute said, smiling.

The group had to hop off of a few small bits of debris to safely reach them, landing behind the battle. Esthia was taking on Victor and Victoria without breaking a sweat, even though she was moving at blurry speeds. Her and Victor kept crashing into each other with punches and tackles, but the fusion’s electrically charged attacks looked like they were winning every time. Eventually, Victoria interrupted with a Moonblast, making Esthia backflip and make space.

“Aww oops, you _almost_ got me that time,” Esthia said, leaning toward them with a finger on her lip. “Why don’t you try just a little teensy bit harder? I might actually let you hit me then.”

Victoria slumped forward, her face red with rage. It was clear she was being pushed beyond her limit – her fluffy body was badly ruffled and covered all over with burn marks. “This isn’t happening.”

Victor was no better, hitting the ground in front of her. He was paralysed to the spot, letting out jittery gurgles in an effort to throw a tantrum. He could barely wiggle his fat.

“Whoa, but how?” Lute whispered, drawn to Esthia. She spun her glowsticks to slip them into her shirt, and then put her paws on her hips.

“C’mon, I’m not done playing yet! You guys have gotta have _some_ ace up your sleeve, right?” she said. Victoria started growling even more, and put a foot forward. “Yeah, c’mon, that’s it. Come at me. Do all the desperate bad guy speeches and pull out your secret weapon. I’m ready for it.”

She didn’t say anything, though. Her fists were clenched and her body was trembling. She had a look that could kill, if only she wasn’t so scruffy and beaten up. Esthia waited though, to which she pulled her foot back and started snickering.

“Huh? Oh wow, did you actually think of something?” Esthia said.

“Your friends have shown up. If your fused state can defeat the two of us, then attempting to defeat the rest of you would be a suicide mission,” she said, holding her arms forward. “So I concede to you. I hate to admit it, but we have done our jobs of stalling for time against you annoying children.”

“Aww what? But I’m supposed to teach the kids _not_ to give up,” Esthia said.

“Hmpf. Take it or leave it. I’m not risking my health continuing to fight an unwinnable battle,” Victoria said, walking off to the side. “Between you and me however, I don’t believe you stand a chance, though. The Spirle King is on an entirely different level to anything you may have ever seen. If you leave him to make his new world now, then he may just spare you and make you a slave or something.”

“What’re you talking about?” Lute said, jumping forward.

“Lute!” Esthia said cheerfully.

“You heard Lassic’s public announcement, right? The Spirle King is going to use the Mega Stone to wipe out all life. Only the smartest and most fortunate will survive. If you do as you’re told and don’t try to fight him, he might spare you,” Victoria said. “I mean, he got Lassic to do it! Anyone who can get that genius to do their bidding is not to be underestimated.”

“We ain’t kiddin’ when we say the king’s on a whole other level. We’re talking like, this guy might be Arceus in disguise or something. He’s so powerful that you won’t be able to touch him! And now that he’s got the Mega Stone on his side,” Victor said, bouncing back to his feet. “Man, us losing to you guys isn’t gonna keep him happy, though. Is he even gonna accept us anymore?”

Lute’s eyes diverted for a moment. “_Don’t they know who the Spirle King is? Do they not realise that Lassic might be the Spirle King?_”

“That doesn’t matter, you lardy lump. We’re alive and we’re in his safe zone. We will live regardless,” Victoria said, stomping.

“Wait, so which is it? Are we fightin’ for him or are we fightin’ for ourselves?”

“Ourselves, you nugget! Argh, forget it.”

“Actually, if you guys are gonna come quietly, then that actually means you’re both under arrest,” Sophitia said, a snarky smile on her face as she held up her King’s Shield badge. “You can join Storm in our comfy cells. Marina will deal with you.”

“You guys beat Storm?” Victor cried. Victoria didn’t say anything. “… Y’know, we might be wrong on this whole hero thingy.”

“Will you shut up? There aren’t any ‘heroes’ in Aseria. Heroes don’t exist. It’s just a stupid title the authorities give themselves to become the idols of some snotty little child. The world isn’t going to magically become a better place because of a ragtag group of no-lives decide to follow the story of some crazy old coot,” Victoria said. “The only way the world will ever change is if everyone makes it. And that is what is going to happen! Our king is going to wipe out all of the unworthy, and rebuild the world with Spirle as its rulers. Only then will we get what we deserve.”

“That’s what you held onto. You do realise what’s really going to happen, right? Can you imagine wiping out everybody and leaving only certain Pokémon alive?” Sophitia said, approaching them both.

“That’s what it takes to create the perfect world. The world where I sit upon a throne. You wouldn’t understand these feelings,” Victoria said.

“Well this is an interesting development. And here I thought you wouldn’t need me,” Tetra said, floating down from above. Sophitia flinched back, while the others reassumed their poses for battle. The Klefki looked them over with blank concern, and of course, locked his sights on Lute.

“Why is it always me?” Lute cried.

“I’m not going to fight you now. The Spirle King has finished his preparations, so I’m more interested in seeing what’s going to happen. Lute, if you can beat him, you might stand a chance against me!”

“What’re you babbling on about now?” Victoria snapped.

“The only reason I stay for Spirle is because I want to engage in interesting battles. But if the new world gets created, I won’t be having any battles, will I? So Lutey has to win so that I can get what I want,” Tetra said, smiling. “So how’s that, everyone? I’m on your side now! Ish. Sort of, anyway.”

“You’re so messed up. But I’m not complaining,” Kuri said, arms folded.

“The thing is though, if you lose and Spirle’s world gets created, that means you were never worth fighting in the first place. So you better not lose,” Tetra said. “Well then? Get on with it. Send those two back to your prison and go challenge the king!”

“Wait, you’re not gonna help us? You’re a traitor!” Victor shouted.

“Oh shut up. You are so loud and childish! How did a fat lump like you get into Spirle anyway?”

“Well ya’see, it all started—”

“That wasn’t a serious question you overweight sack!”

“Ya’know, I’m actually getting’ really tired of all the tubby names you keep callin’ me, you smelly old Gogoat.”

“Smelly old- how dare you! You know and love my fragrances full well!”

“Ugh, they’re awful together. They were arguin’ the whole time we were fighting,” Esthia said, shrugging. Sophitia gave a tired sigh and swiped her badge to the side, and then pointed it at the arguing fairies. The badge reacted, engulfing them in a cylinder of light that made them vanish.

“And you?” Esthia said.

“I just told you kids. Don’t worry, I’m not going to pull any nasty cheap shots or dirty moves. It’ll be too easy to kill you all if I did that, and I want fun fights, remember? So I’ll just be waiting back here to see what happens,” Tetra said. “I think you better hurry up before I change my mind, though.”

“Should we trust him?” Lute said, tilting his head.

“Well you’re the one he’s obsessed with. That’s your problem, not mine,” Kuri said, walking off. Genesis and Phoenix followed, leaving him to gawk.

“Aww c’mon guys, after we got this far? Ah, those guys still don’t think of themselves as part of the team, do they?” Lute said.

“I’m surprised, but considering where we are, I think he’s being serious. We did just see Victor and Victoria gives themselves up,” Sophitia said. “So c’mon. We don’t have time to lose.”

“And if he does turn out to be fibbing, we were already prepared to have to pound him along with the rest of Spirle anyway, so that won’t be anything new,” Esthia said. Everyone turned to stare at her. “Er, what? Do I have something on my butt?”

“No it’s just, who actually are you? Are you another High Point, too?” Sophitia said, tilting her head. Esthia’s eyes widened.

“Huh? Oh no, not me. I’m uh, ah, oh gods, girls wait, stop please—” she said, beginning to panic and rub herself. All of a sudden, the fusion’s body began to mold in and out of shape, turning completely white in the process. It eventually split into two much smaller Pokémon, both of them being thrown apart by their un-fusing. Infia and Esther were left on their backs, both surprised and staring blankly for a moment.

“Oh. My. Gosh! That was so amazing what the heck was that?” Esther screamed, kicking herself to her feet. She kept rambling in excited squeaks as she charged over to Infia, locking paws with her to spin them around, all the time laughing and hopping.

“A-ah, Esther please!”

“Sorry, but no I can’t!” the Pikachu said, breaking free to throw a fist up high. “That was just, so freaking cool! I was all like, ready to sacrifice myself and everything and you were all like, no ‘cos I’m totally in love with you and then everything turned into light and then the next thing I know I’m that awesome- thing! That, whatever that was!”

“It was… our fusion, yes,” Infia said, letting out a breath.

“Our fusion? You didn’t tell me you could do that, that felt so damn good! Let’s do it again!”

“I-I uh—”

“But first!” Esther said, freezing in front of the Minun. Infia looked up at her and went bright red, and gulped. “You mean that, didn’t you? You really like _like_ me?”

“I-I-I’m sorry, that just sorta slipped out. I’m so sorry, that must be super weird and stuff. I mean, we’re both girls, and I’m younger, now everybody’s watching, and—” she said. She kept huffing and couldn’t stand or look straight.

“Oh who gives a shit what they think? That was like, what do they call it? An epiphany and all that stuff. Totally woke me up from a rut!” Esther cheered. She tightened her grip on Infia’s paws. “Hey c’mon, look at me. You meant what you said, right?”

She could barely manage that. One look at the pudgy Pikachu’s sparkling eyes and she knew she was out of her mind. “I-I was just s-saying stuff that came to mind! I didn’t mean to.”

“Wait, is that really true?” Esther said. Her tone made Infia snap to reality, surprised to see Esther’s genuine look of disappointment. “Look, forget that the others are here now. Forget everything else. This is just one question from me to you. Y-you really mean it?”

“I… I really look up to you. You’ve helped me open my eyes to so much more and stuff. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone on this journey. But you’re so beautiful and confident and capable compared to me, I just love that you keep pushing me so hard. I-I-I love everything about you. If I could live with you, I know that’s what I really wanna do,” Infia said, her face redder than a tomato. “But that’s just like, super weird, right? Ahaha, I’m just a crazy superfan who got to be too close to you for too long. We’re both girls, too.”

Oh stop it, you’re killing me!” Esther said, rubbing her face. “Look. I’ve heard a lot of it. But those lines? I’ve only ever heard ‘em from cocky guys who get to meet and greet after a show. You, you’re saying this after months of getting to know the real me. I’m a loud mouth, I don’t care about cleanliness, I mean well I do, but you know what I mean – I’m a slob and I know it. I dunno, I feel like you’re genuine.”

“Esther,” Infia whispered, finally able to stare back.

“Every other Pokémon who’s seen me swear or play in mud, or chug food twice my weight has just gotten freaked out and pretended they didn’t see it. But you, even though you’re a girl too, you still did and said everything and stuff with me and everything. That’s gotta be special, am I right?” Esther said, squeezing Infia’s paws again. “I’ve never been in a real relationship before. But all that really, _really_ spoke to me. S-so what I’m saying is like, I-I’m happy? To have you around? I-I mean I _want_ to have you around. I wanna give this a try, a proper relationship! With you!”

Infia was frozen to the spot, now. Both of them were blushing deeply and wouldn’t take their eyes off one another. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and what she was hearing. Her, a nappy wearing weakling that had all these strange powers and had the max volume of a Whismur. What could Esther really see in her?

Then it hit her. The reverse of Infia’s own affection was true. Esther was the only Pokémon who, when learning about Infia’s strange disabilities and powers, accepted it at face value and just went about her way. It wasn’t that Esther didn’t care or was simply trying to train her, or perhaps it was, seeing as the Pikachu didn’t realise how much affection she had for her. It was that Infia had long since been accepted for who she was. She could be herself around this Pikachu, and never once would she be judged or joked about or pitied.

Realising that, Infia began to snicker. Her blush disappeared as she broke into giggles and light laughter. Esther seemed surprised until she leapt into the Pikachu’s arms and connected their lips, only briefly. Esther reacted fast, laughing and nuzzling back, wrapping her arms around her as Infia did the same. They twirled, nuzzled, laughed, and danced on their toes without a care in the world, and after a while, began to glow white. Their yellows, blues, reds, and pinks all began to mix together until they were the shape of one figure, which manifested as Esthia, who was laughing and hugging herself just as blissfully.

“Ha ha, yes! Today is the best day of my life!” she cheered, raising both fists. She froze, realising that Lute and the others had been watching the whole time, and their jaws were on the floor. “Umm, yo.”

“What? Ain’t you ever seen a couple before?” Tetra said, laughing while jiggling his keys.

“It’s not that, that’s super sweet and all. I-I’m super happy for you, honestly, I am, but,” Sophitia said, dozily stepping forward. She started examining Esthia, lifting her arm, tapping her ear, tugging at her clothing and all else. “This is unprecedented! I never imagined Infia could do something like this. And this form made them strong enough to beat Victor and Victoria.”

“Well sorry if you like what you’re seeing, but this beauty’s taken,” Esthia said, half-lidded and teasing with her skirt. Sophitia flinched away, realising what she was doing. “But it’s alright, Sophie. Just get a guy who looks at you the same way Lute’s looking at me.”

That drew all eyes to the Eevee, and he flinched away to rub his face. “Aw geez, why would you say something like that?”

“Still seems like Esther to me,” Phoenix said.

“I’m not Esther anymore, it’s Esthia. This might come as a shock to you, but I’m my own Pokémon. I bet if Marina saw me, she’d be able to explain it better,” Esthia said.

“You look alright, but I do still have to ask: you’re ready for this, right? You don’t need a rest or a Cheri Berry or anything?” Sophitia said.

“The Spirle King stuff? Oh yeah, no sweat. Perfect setting for my real debut. I won’t un-fuse unless they want me to, or I get defeated, so we won’t have any sudden emergencies on our hands or anything,” she said. “Intros outta the way, tummy’s full, underwear’s dry, nothing to stop me from showing you guys up.”

“You’ve got spirit. About time someone in your group had that,” Kuri said, throwing his arms up. He stormed off, surprising everyone.

“You don’t have to be rude about it. This is special to them,” Genesis said, tripping to keep up.

“I know that. But it’s still something born outta Lassic’s twisted shit. If she can beat him, I won’t be satisfied with myself,” he said. He snickered, rubbing his chin. “Or maybe it’s a good thing. It’d be pretty cool if he got beat by a product of his own mess.”

…

A little way ahead took them into the light they had been working their way towards. Inside wasn’t as blinding as they anticipated it would be. In fact, it turned out to be the opposite. They had walked into a large dome of rainbow light, only for the darkness from outside to pierce through the light and keep the dome eerie. Bubbles of various colours streaked all around them in random directions, while a watery texture of smoky black outlined the area. The rumbles of lightning from the Inner Storms could still be heard, but they were muffled by the watery bubbling.

Lute was surprised there was even solid ground in here. The ground matched that of outside. Dark red, cracked, hard, and rocky towards the edges. Humidity kept his heart beating fast as he walked along its zigzagging pathways, still descending into the heart of what felt like a deadly mountain. The closer they got to the core, the more there appeared to be vines swirling towards their goal. Thick vines that were harder than metal.

As the path descended, these vines became so abundant that they shielded the background from view, soon joined by an unattractive array of computers and machinery. Pipes had been weaved between the vines, computers were stationed to hang from them and stick up in the middle of the path, and there were even some tiny, floating, Spinarak drones scuttling across it all.

Kuri let out a yelp and kicked one away, making everyone freeze. “Damn things. What the hell is all this?”

“Kuri,” Genesis said. He gave her an intense glare, and then back to the path ahead. There were here.

The core of Planet Aseria. One more winding path that led into the heart of all the vines and light in the area. It became a final descent to the edge of a cliff, surrounded on all sides by the smoky black abyss, wavering lights, and swirling vines. The vines all congregated to where the cliff faced, where they entangled an enormous, shiny stone.

“The Mega Stone,” Lute whispered, losing himself to awe. Everyone else, even Genesis, were the same. A gigantic, perfectly spherical stone that shone every single colour in existence. These colours flowed about the inside of the stone, but with an illusive pattern that made it look as though they were both inside the stone and outside of it. It was difficult to look at.

Lute shook his head and redirected his gaze to the edge of the cliff. There, at the foot of the Mega Stone, was the back of a tall Delphox. His chest churned, and his breathing became shaken, yet he walked with his friends until they were within his presence. The Delphox’s fur perked up as they neared, and he turned to address them. Lute wouldn’t ever forget that charming, welcoming smile, or the strange earpiece that covered one eye with a visor.

“It’s exactly as destiny willed it. Perfect timing, all of the expected Pokémon present,” he said, stepping to the side. He had an entire computer attached to the surface of the Mega Stone, with wires and pipes linking directly to it.

“S-say it isn’t so,” Sophitia said, stepping forward. “Is there someone controlling you, or someone hiding right now, or whatever petty thing – this isn’t really you, is it?”

He was quiet for a moment. “You do not believe your eyes. Then let me assure you, and welcome you here personally. I, Lassic, the current leader of Aseria and soon to be king of New Aseria, am truly here at the core of the planet.”

“It really is you. The High Points made it seem like they didn’t know who you were,” she said, hanging her head.

“They do not,” he said, and she instantly looked up. “Spirle and their High Points are a perfect example of how flawed Aseria currently is. And today, I seek to correct that in one grand action.”

“But I don’t get it. It can’t be true,” Lute said. “All the evidence was pointing to you and yet I still can’t understand it. You’ve done so much for Aseria, why make Spirle and do all this?”

“And in case you haven’t already realised, we’re all here to kick your ass so hard that you’ll regret ever being born with one. So you better have a good reason for this,” Kuri said, his signature cocky smile on his face. With a tilt of his head, that smile switched into a focused frown of dark fury. “Who am I kidding? Regardless of what you blather, I’m going to tear you limb from limb until there’s nothing left.”

“And I’m surprised that you’ve lived long enough to feel you have the chance to do so. It truly is destiny at its finest, isn’t it?” Lassic said, raising a claw. He faced the Mega Stone, hovering a palm over it. “It’s magnificent, don’t you think? The source of Aseria’s energy. Not just the battery for the planet, but the source of all Pokémon powers and abilities. To think that the secret to our progress has been the core of our planet the whole time. With this, we have evolved, discovering our latent abilities, new moves, new forms, and so much more. Mega Evolution, Z-moves, Dynamax, all possible because of V-Waves from this magnificent stone.”

“Er, I know you plan to do something really weird with it, but don’t you think that because it’s the planet’s core means we shouldn’t mess about with it? If you broke it, the whole world would be in trouble,” Esthia said.

“Broke it? And who do you take me for?” he replied, facing them again.

“I dunno, some mad scientist who thinks he rules the world or something? Get to the point already.”

“I founded the Agents of King’s Shield in order to further this world. A mere rescue team with the aim of helping all Pokémon in need. But my talents went beyond that. I discovered how our powers worked, I discovered how mystery dungeons work, and I discovered the way to manipulate those things into my preference. Do you understand that? My natural knowledge enabled me to shape the laws of this very world into my being. I was a god in mortal flesh long before I made it here!” Lassic said, stepping forward. “But the current rulers of the world, the kings and queens of times that are now ancient, they declined my progress. When I sought to further this world by taking control over the source of all V-Waves, they declined and shunned my aims. They held the progression of all of the Pokémon world back, and for what reason?”

“To protect us from truths that we don’t understand, dangerous potential that could threaten our world in generations to come. We weren’t to step out of line because nobody knew what would happen,” Genesis said.

“So while the Pokémon of the world continue to suffer in broken communities, torn apart by the feral monsters of mystery dungeons, we were expected to suck up to monarchs that sat upon unearned riches? I took matters into my own paws, all to progress this world. I worked with V-Waves and gained the power to conquer those fools. I wiped them out of existence, and then evolved Aseria into what it is today,” he said.

“Yes. A world with withering nature that lacks seasons, so close to the point of irreversible destruction that ancient heroes had to awaken. We’re here because of your callous actions,” Phoenix said.

“I am literally about to resolve that crisis. Will you patriotic fools look with your eyes and use your own heads for once in your lives?” Lassic raised his voice. “What have I done for your world? I rid it of mystery dungeons, I created technology to enrich the lives of the common Pokémon, I enabled those who could not live normal lives to exist as peacefully and normally as possible. All I care about is evolving this world for the better, to bring about the best in Pokémon. To bring us beyond the feral creatures we once were. To evolve us beyond what is expected of Pokémon, beyond the domination of humans, beyond the supposed gods that created us.”

“Evolve us… beyond… humans?” Sophitia said, going blank.

“But I began to notice a fatal flaw in our current world. As I rose in recognition and achievement, more and more Pokémon began to look up to me, began to rely on me. Fewer Pokémon were taking matters into their own paws. Lute, you’re a perfect V-Pocket. Surely you must have this feeling sometimes. When all but a few can keep up with you, and soon enough, you become relied on to do even the simplest of tasks?” he said.

“What? No, I… I’ve never had a feeling like that. I’ve only been able to get this far thanks to everyone. My friends,” he said, glancing at them all. Lassic’s fury returned.

“Then you are as pathetic as the rest of them. Within time, I became adored to a fault. Pokémon called me a leader. But do you know what happens to the leaders of worlds? Pokémon are extremely quick to take them down for doing things they don’t like. For not being absolutely perfect, despite being not being perfect themselves. For not taking matters into their own capable paws!” Lassic said, raising his own claw. “I will evolve this world into absolute perfection by all means necessary, if it’s the last thing I do. I am the sole reason this world has evolved to its current state, and I will not let that be destroyed thanks to the aged beliefs of some backwater, fantasy-loving children.”

“You’re even more deranged than I thought. You actually think you’re a god,” Kuri said.

“When the world is this easy to manipulate into your favour, can you consider yourself anything lower? Seeing only adoration from Pokémon the world over, I created a foe for myself, Spirle. Without ever revealing my true identity to a group of criminals, I was able to create an organization that was called a hero for taking down. I pushed myself up through the hierarchy until I became the leader of this generation. But this, this is greatly flawed,” he said, shaking his head. “I couldn’t stand it. Pokémon wouldn’t evolve or progress without me. So I began to create my own Pokémon. I experimented with V-Waves to create powered up Pokémon that could do anything I wished.”

“The V-Pockets,” Sophitia said.

“And now, with a source of infinite power within my paws, and the perfect theory, I have discovered the secret to evolution. With the Mega Stone, I can control the world, the very laws that bind it, and the evolution of Pokémon, to my every command. I will erase this current world and create a new one. A new world occupied by my perfect Pokémon, where we rule as the powerful creatures Pokémon can be,” he said. He slowly turned back to the group, and hung his arms to his sides. “And yet, here you are. Pokémon with the belief that I am wrong and must be taken down, exactly as I feared. I can evolve you all into perfect beings capable of so much more than even I currently am, and yet here you are, thinking of ways to argue against everything I have just told you.”

“You’re in danger, you know!” Lute cried. “You’re going to use the same theory you used on Project Dragonlord. But that didn’t work, that turned into a Risen!”

“I know that,” Lassic said, surprising him. He snickered at Lute’s dumbfounded look. “You underestimate me. I wouldn’t go into this with a knowingly flawed theory. You have seen the Spinarak drones on the way here, have you not?”

“Aren’t those just robots?” Sophitia said. She flinched. “Wait a minute, don’t tell me—”

“All living Pokémon. Every last one of them. Powered up through V-Wave technology. Like perfectly behaved little soldiers, maintaining this area flawlessly.”

There was silence.

“I don’t believe it. It’s all so sound, yet it all sounds so… wrong,” Lute said.

“Lute, what’re you saying? You actually pity this guy or something?” Naivie shouted, bashing him on the head. “If you let him do what he wants, the seasons will _never_ return. Nature will become nothing but his robotic, digitalised dream. He’ll destroy the whole world and he doesn’t even know it.”

“You know Naivie, Artemis isn’t happy that you’ve interfered so much,” Lassic said, tightening his gaze. Naivie yelped and went totally silent. “With this stone, I can control _everything._ The seasons, the powers of Pokémon, everything you can imagine. I will evolve the world into perfection. Knowing that, will you still oppose me?”

There was silence again. Eventually, Sophitia stepped forward, and she smiled eagerly. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that there’s a reason you need to step down from your leadership position. ‘Cos somewhere along the line, you forgot what it means to live, and I mean on a serious level.”

“To live?” he replied.

“You seriously think that you’re perfect? For ditching Marina and Silver, for creating a terrorist group that’s ruined the lives of millions, for creating a society that destroyed the concept of the seasons? You’ve single-handedly destroyed the whole planet and killed millions, and all in the name of your apparent ‘evolution’? You’re living in your own head, just like the kings and queens of the Ancients you were so happy to take down for not agreeing with you,” she said. “You’ve done _exactly_ what you’re criticizing other Pokémon for. Your solution is to just wipe out everything you don’t like and make artificial Pokémon to rule some new world. That’s crazy! I don’t need to be some ancient hero to know that that’s totally screwed up dictatorship.”

“Lassic. This is who we are. Pokémon. Not humans, not gods, and certainly not useless creatures who spend our lives serving fools like you,” Kuri said, pointing at him.

“All kinds of Pokémon live in this world, and not all of them will be born wanting to be who you want them to be,” Genesis said.

“Do you truly wish for society to regress? To go back to the days of suffering in mystery dungeons? For the less fortunate to suffer at the claws and fangs of mindless ferals who prowl our wilderness?” Lassic said.

“Maybe you have good intentions, but the way you have gone about them is unforgiveable. We cannot allow you to destroy that which makes us Pokémon,” Phoenix said.

“The only way the Pokémon world is gonna evolve is the way that everyone wants it to, not the way _you_ think it will!” Esthia said.

Lassic seemed to calm down completely. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Then so be it. Destiny saw us never coming to an agreement, and so, destiny will see us deciding this through conflict.”

“We don’t have to kill each other, you know. Marina’s blaming herself for what you’re doing,” Sophitia said. “You could apologise and come quietly. We can talk about this to everyone.”

“Her pity would not sway me even if she were here now. But it doesn’t matter. Words have no meaning, now. You who believes that the world the ancients ruled is the way forward for society, versus me, who wishes to evolve Pokémon beyond what nature dictated for them. Don’t hold back, or you _will_ lose,” he said, slamming a claw onto the Mega Stone. The stone reacted, releasing several streams of light from around where he touched. “I will show you what we can become. I will evolve further than a Delphox has ever been believed to!”

“Wait, what? But Delphox can’t evolve any further!” Genesis said.

The lights swirled through the air before closing in on Lassic, completely covering him in pure white texture. He let out roar of agony at such a volume that the group cringed from it. They expected the worst to come out of his apparent evolution, but after a few seconds, the very miracle began to take place, and gasps took over.

He grew taller. His ears vanished into more defined head fur. His chest grew shapelier, whilst an alarming amount of fur fell off his body. His pained roars turned into a triumphant cry that told of a complete change of voice. And to finalise, the light burst from his body, revealing his new form.

“Y-you’ve got to be kidding. He actually freaking evolved?” Kuri said, shifting back a bit.

The robe-like flow of red fur that normally covered Delphox from the waist down had completely fallen off, leaving long, thin, exposed legs that looked like they were covered in foil armour. The white fur of his chest had turned into a magenta carapace, exposing arms of a similar nature to his legs. The upper body yellow fur remained similar to a Delphox’s original appearance, but with it no longer connecting to a complete fur coat, it flowed behind him like a cape, split behind him into two loose shapes. His ears had all but vanished, invisible behind five bushy bundles of red fur that flowed like live flames. He still had his stick wand, but boasted new powers by clicking a paw, generating a fireball above the tip of one nail.

“So this is it. An evolution beyond Delphox,” Lassic said, playing with the flame. By using that one nail, he was able to fill the air around him heat, controlling it with perfect majesty. Without any visible effort at all, he made that fireball turn huge, and then threw it at the team with a flick of that nail.

“Watch out!” Sophitia shouted, diving out of the way. No one needed to be told to avoid it though, diving away as it exploded in middle of where they all were. The fireball really burst, remaining as a lingering, sputtering flame.

“Don’t let his power intimidate you. We came here to destroy him!” Kuri said, crossing his arms. He unfurled them to unleash his full power, pushing himself to his Overgrow powered state. He was first to run at Lassic, prompting a maniacal smile from the fire type.

Lassic formed two giant fireballs, one on each claw, and threw them one after the other. Kuri growled as he approached, having to shift to the side to avoid them. Both fireballs exploded as dangerously as the first, creating a wall of flame that kept everyone else back and unable to help. Lassic pointed an arm forward, this time releasing a whole stream of fire that swamped the ground and almost kept the Chespin from approaching. With an angry roar, the Chespin leapt right over it, managed to strike Lassic’s face with a hard punch.

The battle was underway from there. Lassic released flames and fireballs with more ease than had ever been seen of a Pokémon, hovering over the ground with psychic power. Like this, he slid all around the cliff, flinging fireball after fireball and occasionally a Flamethrower with his palm. Kuri could barely keep up, skidding and diving desperately to gain a clear footing. Whenever he got a moment, he’d throw himself at the fire type, just about managing to punch or kick him. None of it looked like it was having any kind of effect however, and soon, he was stumbling in the middle of a storm of flames.

“I can’t get close with all this fire,” Sophitia growled, holding onto a Moonblast. She fired it, but it was avoided by both combatants without even looking at her.

“Esthia, can you still use Rain Dance? We’ve gotta help him!” Lute cried, glancing at her.

“Of course! And Helping Hand doesn’t seem to be doing jack,” Esthia said, stopping pumping her fists. She resorted to a prayer instead, which she raised into the air. The sound of rumbling thunder responded, and then a blanket of dark clouds covered the battle.

“My flames?” Lassic said, surprised to have one of his fireballs fizzle out so suddenly as rain poured over the area. Genesis appeared above him then, and trapped him in her Psychic. He growled and wrenched about in her grip, but with a mere glare in her direction, he was able to shock her into letting up. “Do not get cocky. You may have weakened my fire, but my new powers are above anything a Pokémon has ever seen. You cannot defeat me with Psychic!”

“Tsk. Gen, rock Rollout combination!” Kuri said.

“Got it!” she said, recovering in mid-air. She put her paws together like she was to receive a ball, and held her position in the air.

Kuri had to dodge a fire more fireballs, but none of them were lingering on the floor thanks to the rain. This enabled him to build up speed, and then he skipped into a forward roll. Surrounded by brown energy resembling rock, Kuri rolled into Lassic, finally hitting him hard enough to earn a curse.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Kuri’s first strike had sent him sailing off the cliff, where Genesis was ready to receive him. She punched him right back with a shove of her paws, and he hit Lassic again, this time so hard that the fire type stumbled. She flew off in Kuri’s direction and caught him again, knocking him back even faster.

And they kept it up. Seven hits, all at increasing speed and power every time. On the last strike, Kuri released his Rollout attack and pulled an arm back, putting all his energy into that one attack. He hit with perfect timing, punching Lassic’s face with that arm that bulged with overflowing energy.

“Frenzy Plant!” he roared at the top of his voice. The energy came out as giant vines that engulfed Lassic completely, huge vines that squeezed and crushed him into a ball of blindingly bright green energy. It all exploded into a mighty blast that pushed everyone back, but they remained on their feet.

No one dared to say anything, eagerly watching the smoke. No one expected him to be defeated despite the heavy hits, and they were right to think so. With a snarl and a swipe of an arm, Lassic blew the smoke away, revealing a livid appearance.

“You? Where did you get this kind of power?” he said.

“It’s a little thing called training and growing. You seem to think Pokémon can’t do it, even though it only takes a little effort,” Kuri said.

Lassic snarled again, gripping his right arm with his left. He was trembling, straining, gritting his fangs so hard it looked like he might draw blood. “You, you!”

“Wait, something’s happening,” Sophitia said, keeping everyone back with her feelers.

“I… you… m-my arm, what is—” Lassic growled, suddenly letting out a painful roar. His grip on his arm looked to get even tighter, and the fiery appearance of his fur got wilder. And then, in a flash of light, his right arm burst off, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Gasps and screeches rang out, several of the group covering their mouths and faces.

Even Sophitia had to look away, sickened by the mutilation. But she kept him in his sight, further speechless by the fact that his bleeding stopped instantly. A fleshy gash healed over as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a brown bulge where the arm once was. In response, Lassic’s left arm began to get bulkier and its nails grew longer.

“Hah, hah, I see,” he said, curling that one claw up to test it. “This isn’t a mere evolution, but an adaptation.”

He pointed at Kuri, instantly trapping him in an agonising Psychic hold. The Chespin couldn’t move an inch, only growl and cry out pathetically.

“Kuri!” Genesis hissed, curling her paws up. She quickly used Shadow Ball, prompting Lassic to dismiss his target just as quickly. He flung his arm to guard himself, which in turn threw Kuri into a scrape across the floor.

“Are you nuts? You just lost an arm. That can’t be okay!” Sophitia cried. He replied with a snicker, this time trapping her in Psychic.

“Sophitia!” Lute cried.

“Okay, no more little miss nice girl, this guy’s playing for keeps. Can you guys keep ‘im busy?” Esthia said.

“We’re fighting him anyway,” Phoenix said, charging off.

“He’s right. We have to try,” Lute said, looking up at the struggling Sophitia. “_But I can tell. You want to try and save him, too._”

In his moment of hesitation, the battle had resumed. Sophitia had been set free thanks to Phoenix shooting Flamethrower in Lassic’s direction, once again blocked with ease by that single bulky arm. Phoenix, Genesis, and Kuri kept close to him, only to have all of their attacks deflect off that arm. It was big enough to swipe them all back in a single slap as well, a backhand that scraped across the ground so hard it left an indent and shook the arena.

“It’s like he just gained the defence to stop us all of a sudden. I doubt Frenzy Plant is gonna work again,” Kuri said.

“Then just pelt him with special,” Genesis said, ears raised and Shadow Balls held in both paws. The group nodded and resorted to Energy Ball and Flamethrower attacks, forcing Lassic to guard himself. Seeing their attacks not end however, he growled, stepped forward, and swiped them back once again, stopping them all at once.

“Your efforts are wasted. You can’t hurt me anymore!” Lassic said, realising what was happening. The clouds above him had gotten thicker and louder, telling of a Thunder attack. He growled and raised his arm to deflect it, only for the electricity to pierce right through and shock his whole body. He roared out as electricity streamed through him, stunning him to the spot before exploding and enshrouding the area in smoke once more.

“Nice Thunder! That ought to pin him,” Genesis said, giving Esthia a cheerful wave. The fusion giggled back, keeping her eyes on the fight.

Lassic was pinned down, slumped forward and sizzling with electricity. The rain had stopped, so his grunting breaths could be heard loud and clear. Seeing his high damage, Sophitia stepped forward, signalling for everyone to stand back again. “You really don’t care, do you? You’re that determined to just, kill us and go about making your world. But look at yourself, Lassic! You can still reverse this.”

His response was a light snicker, and then he wrenched his body back and roared aloud again. He sounded like his was in more pain than before, but this time, there was a warning before the next gruesome evolution happened. His remaining arm glowed the colour of flames moments before it blew off, once again spewing blood in its place.

“Lassic!” Sophitia cried.

“Do you know… what evolution means, Sophitia?” he said, huffing heavily. His body grew as he spoke, getting thicker legs and longer nails on his feet. His yellow fur had begun to change colour as well, almost as if it was deteriorating into a nasty brown. “Right now, I am physically linked to the Mega Stone, the source of natural evolution. As this fight rages on, my body will adapt specifically to each and every change in the circumstances. The longer you fight, the more effective my form will become.”

The group shifted back as his new form finalised. He was now armless, but possessed a fierce face sporting large fangs and huge legs that looked as though they could crush them in a single step.

“This fight is unwinnable!”

“Sophitia! I know you’re concerned about Marina. But you have to let those feelings go!” Kuri said, getting her attention. Sophitia gasped at him, appearing terrified. “This isn’t someone you can reason with right now. He isn’t going to stop fighting until he gets his way.”

“It can’t be kill or be killed, though. He’s too smart for that!”

“Trust me damn it!” he raised his voice. She went silent, gawking at him. “I’ve spent the last twenty years of my life watching this guy, waiting for this chance to take him down. Trust me when I say this: he isn’t going to let up.”

She looked back at the fight, disheartened by the weight of what was happening. Having lost both arms, Lassic had resorted to using his legs and his fire breath for offense. He was no weakling in those areas, almost as if now that his body only had those things, his powers there had multiplied. Every Flamethrower he let out swamped the area and set the group alight, while his ruthless stomps throughout the area shook the cliff like an earthquake.

“The only way out of this now is to kill him. Kill him and let Aseria know the truth!” Kuri said.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the conflict. Even Lute had gotten involved, bracing the walls of fire to charge through with Quick Attack. Esthia had used Rain Dance again, but the water was barely enough to douse his attacks anymore. Angered by their inability to hit him, she formed her sword and shield, and sighed.

“That’s it. No more words. Let’s take him down and save the day,” Kuri said, bringing up his Overgrow boost again. Even though she didn’t say anything, she ran with him, drawing attention to them by grinding her blade against the ground as she approached.

“Do we have a plan? He’s going to keep changing form,” she said.

“Just pulverize him! He can’t adapt to getting beaten to death,” Kuri said, skidding to avoid a stomp. Lassic attempted to step on him several times, and then just as he brought up flames, he was slashed from behind by Sophitia’s blade. His Flamethrower went haywire, forcing Genesis to fly through the air evasively. His attack came to a stop thanks to a combined Thunderbolt and Swift from Esthia and Lute, all before being tackled from the front by Kuri and Phoenix together.

Every move, every dodge, every stumble, she was beginning to predict it all. And then the perfect opportunity came, and her feelings vanished. She held her breath, tightened up, and blacked out every mental thought she had holding her back. Leaping forward, she drove her sword deep into Lassic’s chest.


	33. This Is Who We Are - PART 2 -

Even though she had psyched herself up for it, Lassic’s roar of death still shook her to the bone. He may have looked like a mutated monster now, but his pain was real enough to let her know what she had just done.

She dared to look up, uncontrollably shivering. Lassic was bleeding from his mouth, glaring down at her with a mad fury in his eyes. Two feelers held her blade deep in his chest, but blood oozed from around the blade. Being so close to him, his heated breath and bloody stench brought her gradually closer to screaming. But she held on, breathing frantically as she shifted back to pull her weapon out.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Lassic said, letting out a low, satisfied growl. She could only respond with a gulp, and then the colour of flames began to seep from his upper orifices – between his eyes, somewhere around his neck, and whatever of his ears was underneath that flaming head fur. That was followed by his head beginning to bulge as well, and the whole group set off gasping.

“Sophitia!” Lute screamed, rushing toward her. Esthia and Kuri were several steps ahead, and pushed their way between the Sylveon and the mutated Delphox. He could just about see them activating Protect and Spiky Shield before Lassic’s head exploded into a nasty mess of flames and flesh. This blast was strong enough to push their group back, leaving them disturbed and soaked in smouldering blood.

A few moments passed, then. No one made a move for an uncomfortable amount of time, as if someone else was supposed to do something to move this forward. But as the blood cooled, the group looked at themselves, all shivering by just how much had gotten on them.

“He’s headless! Don’t look at him,” Genesis said, floating back down to their level.

“I had to do it again, though,” Sophitia whispered, shivering hard. She glared at her stained feelers and paws, her face going pale. “I-is that really it?”

Phoenix didn’t seem to have a problem with staring at the mutation, and was the first to flinch. “Don’t start celebrating. Something’s coming!”

“But he’s—” Sophitia whispered, looking up at him with a feeler over her eyes. She blocked out his missing head from view, revealing that his body had remained standing and was proceeding to evolve further. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!”

“That stab should have done it. Can he really recover?” Kuri said, clenching his fists.

All the others could do was growl and stand back as Lassic’s chest began to pulsate, soon joined by the brown bulges by his missing arms. It all beat loudly, as if a giant heart in his body was pumping something into him that was trying to burst out. His body rose as a white texture took over him, the familiar look of an authentic Pokémon evolution taking place.

His arms appeared first, stretching out far to the sides to give his enormous claws the space to shape out. His legs grew in a similar fashion, becoming even wider with longer nails. Lastly, a face burst out of his chest, which seemed to curl up his body as if he was shedding a skin until it settled on his head. His tail grew bushier, his head fur resembled a war fan made of flames, and a new shape of armour replaced the chest he had just discarded. With his evolution complete, the light disappeared, revealing his new form.

Any resemblance to a known Pokémon was now lost. His head and upper body was a sludgy brown, torn towards his chest and misshapen around his mouth. Five eyes with empty red pupils and a gaping maw lined with huge fangs adorned his face, tipped by two horns. Those horns and his tail were the only remaining yellow fur on him, as his thick arms and legs had taken on an armoury appearance, though they were bulging with muscle. He retained some fur on from his knees and upward, though it was a deep red and stained with the blood lost from his previous evolution. With a triumphant roar, he landed so hard that a shockwave took everyone off their feet.

“Perhaps now you understand what you are fighting against,” he said. His voice had completely changed, becoming deep and grainy, but it retained the smart composure of the Lassic they knew. “My power is limitless. I control it. All form, all law, the very concept of evolution. It belongs to me, and I shall never let mortals take it away from me.”

“Lassic, you’ve turned yourself into a monster. There’s no way that’s a Pokémon evolution!” Sophitia cried.

“I can revert at any time. This form is only temporary,” he said, stepping closer. Just that one step shook the whole cliff, forcing everyone to pay attention to their balance.

“Then change back. If you can change back, then we can still talk about this,” she said, unable to hide the tears in her voice.

“You would fight this far only to now call upon diplomacy? One might say that you are quitting when faced with certain defeat,” he said. He bared his claws and the three eyes between his main two began to glow. “The time for talking is over. This will be the face of Aseria’s rapture. With the immense power coursing through me, I will wipe out all the Pokémon I deem unworthy, and recreate the world with my perfect V-Pocket creations.”

“Guys, we’re on a timer,” Kuri said, getting their attention. The surrounding area had begun to take on the red aura that appeared when Lassic initially warned of the rapture, and all of it was coming up from the ground itself. The air was filled with red particles and the air was growing thin.

“My perfect creations will evolve this world beyond anything you aged mortals could ever comprehend. We will transcend all known Pokémon. We will transcend humanity. We will become perfect beings that rule over all living in this universe,” Lassic said, raising a claw as if to taunt them. “Do you accept that? Will you bow down to me and succeed this ancient world at last?”

“Shut up! You know the answer is no. We’re not going to let you kill everyone and turn them into- into- whatever the heck you are!” Lute shouted, sweating hard as he struggled to breathe.

“Then there is nothing more to discuss,” Lassic said, brandishing his claws and fangs. “Throw yourselves at me, and face certain death in the face of the pinnacle of Pokémon progression!”

With that, he inhaled deeply until embers were leaking from his mouth, throwing everyone back into the fray. He belched out a sea of flames that spread far and wide, towering high enough to block him from view. Esthia, Sophitia, and Kuri reacted with their shields, while Lute, Phoenix, and Genesis could only cry out and brace as the flames swamped over them, stealing whatever little strength and breath they had left.

Lute was left stumbling in a daze. His head was rushing to form some coherent thought, but all he could muster were the survival instincts to stay on his feet. His body hurt so much that it ached just from the cool that came after the flames. He managed to open his eyes to see Lassic stood over him with a claw drawn back. His vision was blurry so he could only make out the colours.

He threw himself to his side in an effort to dodge, but the claw striking the ground created such a shock wave that he was thrown into the air by it. He couldn’t even let out a cry at this point, only a lifeless cough as he lost control over himself. He landed hard on his side, finding himself totally worn out and barely able to move a paw.

Still, he growled and grinded his teeth, forcing his eyes open. Everything was still a blur, though worse than before thanks to sweat cascading down his face. He breathed hard and fast, and that was the only sound that was clear to him. Even then, that wasn’t giving him any strength, only drying out his chest as he couldn’t get any air from whatever he was breathing in.

“Sophitia,” he mumbled. What looked like her pale blue was fluttering around the fiery reds and blacks of Lassic’s moves. The ground was shaking hard, and the crackling of flames was constant. But there were definitely screams and cries of pain going on there, and that kept him fighting his heavy eyelids.

“Lute, hang in there,” Esthia said, laying her paws on him. A harmless yellow light pulsed from the tips of her fingers and into his side, relieving him of his energy.

“Y-you can still heal,” he said, shuddering. He was able to get to his feet, but he still stumbled and blinked a few times to focus. Nothing was working, his view was still blurry.

He didn’t need to be able to see perfectly to be able to tell what was happening, though. The monster was crushing everyone’s best efforts. Lassic had well and truly evolved into a monstrosity that was adapted to fight them, showing little to no damage from their attacks. Soon enough, Sophitia had all four of her feelers holding up shields, and had clasped them all together to block one of Lassic’s claws.

“Sophitia!” Lute choked, finally focusing on her face. She was strained, more strained than he had ever seen her. In just a moment, she was going to let up on those shields, and then he was going to have a nightmare of his paws. His feelings flared, and everything else just vanished to him. All he could think about was stepping in and stopping her from getting crushed.

His eyes had fizzed out, but this time, he was aware. Aware of everything he needed to do and all the power he needed to bring up to do it. He barely even thought about, launching himself away from Esthia with Quick Attack and crashing into Lassic’s palm so hard that the monster stumbled back.

“You continue to struggle so?” Lassic said, turning his full attention to Lute. He stood coolly on the edge of the cliff, totally silent and eyes locked onto Lassic. Noting his glowing body and fuzzy eyes, Lassic’s on eyes twitched as if he was grinning. “I see. But not even that form will be able to best me. Come, try!”

Lute silently snarled, taking that invitation. He stretched to charge up Quick Attack again, and then he was off. He thought he would crash directly into Lassic again, but the monster was fast enough to step aside and clash with him with one of his claws. Neither combatant was pushed anywhere, enabling Lute to kick off the ground and fly straight back, where they both hit in a similar fashion.

Everything flew by in the blink of an eye. Lute felt like he was practically flying through the air, charging into Lassic so hard that sparks flashed from their impacts every time, about four in the space of a mere second. He roared out loud as he skidded across the floor, forming Swift stars by his paws as he did so. Lassic was in the same boat as him, breathing in for a Flamethrower. Once again their attacks clashed, Lute’s stars exploding against Lassic’s flames. Loud and flashy explosions took over, and soon the whole core was enshrouded in flames.

When Lute landed, his instincts kicked up to a million. Sophitia was stood beside him with two of her feelers holding swords. She put them both together and ran forward, prompting him to do the same. Neither of them were thinking, they just charged headfirst through the smoke and debris with fierce gazes, Lute putting his paws on Sophitia as if to help her. They had a mere instant where Lassic’s face was visible in their approach, and then that was it.

That horrifying roar of death rang out once again, loud and powerful enough to blast the smoke away. Sophitia had her swords jammed so deep into Lassic’s centre that they poked cleanly through his back, and Lute’s paws were helping to push them further. The monster glared down at them, his five eyes leering as they kept pushing, forcing that blade deeper and deeper.

Before he could do anything, if anything at all, a powerful Thunder slammed down on him from above, keeping his body stunned. He struggled to look up and give Esthia the same leer, only to find Kuri, Genesis, and Phoenix high in the air with their strongest attacks at the ready. None of them said anything, he was at the mercy of a combined Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn.

An incredible force pushed the whole party back, while Lassic once again vanished into a cloud of black smoke. The group were breathing heavily, brought to their knees as they anxiously awaited the remains of Lassic’s state. As the smoke began to clear, he was revealed to be bleeding from a huge hole in his centre, and was shuddering sharply from pain.

“N-no matter how ma-many times you h-hurt me, I will always- e-evolve,” he said, struggling to gain breath himself. The red aura of his rapture vanished in a flash, and his body began to glow.

“Are you serious? Stabbing him doesn’t work, pulverizing him doesn’t work, what the actual hell is this guy made of now?” Kuri cried.

Lute still struggled to stay standing, even though the rapture had stopped. It wasn’t from fatigue, it wasn’t from the aura, and as far as he knew, his energy was limitless when he was in his berserk state. Yet still, his eyesight was blurring due to sudden colours obscuring it, while his body felt like energy was being physically sucked from it.

“Wait a minute, of course, it’s all V-Wave powered!” Sophitia cried, slapping her forehead. “Lute, your necklace!”

He growled and blinked hard, and then it all became clear to him. Those random colours blurring his eyesight, they were waves of energy that looked like light, and they were flying from him and the Mega Stone behind Lassic. He struggled to look down at his mane, and there it was – the overbearing glow of his prized necklace. He hadn’t seen it look this explosive in a long while.

He didn’t think twice. He stood up on his hind legs and squeezed it tight, causing the light within to burst. Just like that, the energy waves he could see reversed direction, flying from the Mega Stone and directly into him instead of Lassic. It looked like he was the one draining the energy from Lassic this time, and that was causing the monster’s appearance to become panicked.

“Wha-what? Why am I—” he said, beginning to choke. More lights shone from within him, and his body began to bulge yet again. “M-my body… is s-so… h-hot…”

Lute could only growl as he himself was overwhelmed by whatever energy was flying into him. And while he fought to stay standing, Lassic’s body was soon enveloped by sparkly blast of golden light. It looked as if he was exploding, not from new body parts bursting out of him, but actually evaporating into light. Those bursts intensified as time went on, until finally, one last wave of light blew across the area, throwing everyone to the ground.

It took a few seconds for Lute to get back up up, and it wasn’t without some groans and moans. His sight was back to normal, but his body was aching all over and he couldn’t stop breathing through his mouth. Looking forward, Lassic had completely vanished.

“Did… that work? I can’t sense him at all,” Esthia said, glancing left and right. Nothing remained of that terrible fire type. Genesis walked over to where he just was, joined by a wary Kuri, but there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

“He’s gone. Whatever you did, it made him evaporate,” Genesis said.

“Oh thank gods!” Esthia cheered, throwing herself on the floor. “Talk about not knowing when to quit!”

“It’s over?” Sophitia said, going blank. No one responded until she looked at Genesis, who gave a light smile. “It’s actually over. Lassic’s gone.”

“He really lost,” Naivie said, popping out of Lute’s mane. “That guy was a heck of a deal, but we proved him wrong.”

“Naivie,” Lute muttered.

“I hope you understand what this really all means. You knew this already, but there’s no going back on yourselves. There’s nobody left to tell you guys that the ancient world is the wrong way to live. We’ll do our jobs to make Pokémon rely less on V-Wave technology, awaken those flowers, and then the world is saved. Well, the seasons, anyway,” she said. “No let’s get outta here before something weird happens!”

“She’s… right. Can we use an Escape Orb from here?” Sophitia said.

“Should do. It counts as a Mystery Dungeon,” Phoenix said. “Everybody gather close, please.”

“Wait, one thing first,” Kuri said. He walked right up to the Mega Stone, eying the computer positioned in front of it. Clenching his fists, he rekindled his Overgrow boost, and then hammered it as hard as he could. Everyone was surprises to see him go on a rampage of sorts, reducing all the machinery into sparking rubble.

“There. Now let’s hope I never have to use these powers again,” he said, huffing as he walked back over.

“Hey, y’know, you don’t have to look so edgy anymore,” Naivie said.

“Piss off. I’m just tired as hell,” he grumbled.

“You’re telling me. I don’t wanna do anything for like, a month,” Esthia said, stretching. She fell back to the floor again, where she was surprised to see a number of the Spinarak by her face. “Oh hey there little guys. You’re the perfect V-Pockets, aren’t you?”

They didn’t make a sound, but a whole swarm of them had gathered up to the group. If there was anything to tell from their faces, it was that they were confused.

“Well don’t just stand there, tag along,” Esthia said, giggling. The spiders still didn’t make a sound, but they obeyed, scuttling around her. The thought brought a smile to Lute’s face, and he activated the Escape Orb.

…

First thing was first. A private meeting with the staff that had sent them off to the Inner Earth in the first place. Just like all their other meetings, the team had been gathered in one of the main rooms in Pokétopia’s King Shield base, where they reported and explained everything that they had been through. Sophitia was the quietest, and she wouldn’t stop staring at Marina.

“And so he vanished. So Lassic’s dead now,” Marina said, finishing for them. There was silence, and she shut her eyes. “Lute, Sophitia. Your team have been through a lot. So let me now say: you guys are absolutely incredible.”

“Incredible?” Sophitia said.

“Yes. You took on an incredible role, and despite the number of Pokémon standing against you and the power they had, you stood your ground and did what you had to do. You guys really did something that nobody else could, and for that, you guys deserve the best holiday you can think of,” she said, smiling warmly.

“Ooh ooh ooh, I know just where!” Esthia cheered, bouncing and raising a paw. At that moment, she took on a glow and separated, leaving Infia and Esther on the floor.

“Esther, you’re crazy. No!” Infia cried.

“Aww c’mon, it’ll fun!”

“No less than it’ll be embarrassing!”

“Wait, you two,” Sophitia gasped, slapping her forehead. “We weren’t good enough, though. We couldn’t save Lassic.”

“Save Lassic?” Marina said. Kuri had been leaning on the wall, and his eyes opened at that.

“He was your friend, wasn’t he? The head of the Agents of King’s Shield. And the one who created so much that’s helped the world. If we could just have brought him back here and maybe talked about all this… things might’ve been different,” Sophitia said.

“You’re really regretting that? You, the ballsiest fighter on the team?” Kuri said.

“… Of course. I might enjoy fighting and be good at it, but I don’t like killing. I mean just think about it, his real intentions were good, you know?”

“His intentions were good, but the way he went about them threatened to wipe out all life. He also betrayed the trust of the entire world, commanding Spirle as a terrorist group. By literally fighting himself in predetermined battles, he falsely rose through the social hierarchy,” Kuri said. “He was evil, Sophitia. Evil Pokémon do terrible things while making you think that they’re right. As long as he was that, he deserved judgement.”

“It’s good that you feel compassion about others, including those that you fight. However, Kuri is right. Lassic was a villain who stood for his evil goals until his death. I wouldn’t have had anything different to say to him that you guys hadn’t already said,” Marina said. “I won’t have another word on this, understand?”

“Yes. I understand,” Sophitia said, looking away.

“C’mon, don’t gimme that look. I don’t want to have to be a mum again,” she said, half-lidded.

“I got it I got it, yeesh,” Sophitia said, flinching.

“Now, that goes for the rest of you, too. Aseria is on the verge of a major breakthrough towards peace! Spirle are no more, their main base is destroyed, and their leader is in the afterlife. The four temples are able to restore the seasons and weather at a moments notice. And it’s all thanks to these heroes, right here!” Marina said, jumping on the table. “They deserve a rest, now. It’s time for us to take over and clean up the remainder of this mess. We need to rebuild the most structural parts of Aseria as quickly as we can. Find an alternative to gondolas, round up the remaining Spirle goons, and prepare ourselves for a world without V-Wave technology. And we also need to help these two.”

Kuri and Gen beamed up, surprised to be addressed. “Oh yeah, you two aren’t getting left in the dust. You two knew about Lassic’s true aims before _anybody_ else. Heroes before any of this started. If you don’t mind waiting on your holiday a bit, we can help you out on rebuilding Angard.”

“I guess you can start by like, y’know, talking to her like an actual princess?” Kuri said, folding his arms.

“Oh don’t be like that,” Genesis said, pinching him. “For the first time in so long, we can live out in the open. Without fear. I couldn’t give a claw if Pokémon didn’t talk to me with all that stiff authority nonsense. Of course we don’t mind sticking around.”

“And then you go and order me around. What if I wanted to take my holiday first, huh?” Kuri said smugly. His wife giggled at him, pinching him again. He prodded her back, making her squirm. “Hey c’mon now, I’m being serious. You’ve probably got a decade’s worth of annual leave to use up, but I’m not having it without you.”

“If you’re going be like that, I am going to treat it as a royal order. You’ll get your annual leave, mister,” she said, poking him back.

“Naivie, it might be better if you stayed with Mum for a while, too,” Lute said.

“Oh really? You’re going to pawn her off on me?” Marina said.

“If you’re building stuff without V-Waves, you’ll need her guidance. And we’re not doing stuff related to the journey anymore, so,” he said.

“For once, the little kid has a point,” Naivie said. “You’re a grownup, so I expect you to not be as annoying to work with.”

“And I expect you to know your place,” Marina said. She leaned on the table towards Lute and Sophitia, making them lean away. “So, what’re you planning to do, then? The whole house to yourselves for a little while.”

“Oooh, I get it. Smooth moves, Lutey,” Esther said, half-lidded.

“Wait, what? I’m not – why are you guys acting so weird all of a sudden?” he said. Sophitia rolled her eyes. “I’m not planning anything.”

“Yeah yeah, sure. We’ll make sure we leave you alone for your honeymoon and all,” Esther said, giggling. “Infia, you can come with me, though!”

“What about Phoenix, though?” Infia said. “Wa-wait, but I live in…”

A smile grew on the Pikachu’s face, making her blush. “We’ve got a revival show to work out, and your big debut, too.”

“I, you’re right,” she said, smiling.

“I am comfortable helping out here. It might seem disappointing to you, but I do not get much out of holidays anymore, since I cannot sleep,” Phoenix said.

“Oh, yes. If you still want it, we can finally put some proper time into doing something about that, you know. Turning you and Infia back into normal Pokémon instead of soldiers,” Marina said. She eyed the Spinarak they had brought back, who weren’t doing anything. They were positioned all around the room, but they were motionless and quieter than a Whismur. “And… something about these lot, too. They’re so well behaved.

“That… I didn’t get the chance to tell you, but that won’t be necessary anymore, Miss Marina. You can focus on Mister Phoenix and those Spinarak,” Infia said, bowing to her. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you!”

“So that’s really it then. We’re just, going home and relaxing?” Sophitia said quietly while the others broke off into their happy conversations.

“Well no, not really,” Lute said, walking off. She seemed surprised, blankly following after him. They wound up outside, where the street in front of the arcade was empty. “I don’t plan on really resting yet.”

“Oh. Is it Evoli?”

“No, actually. I don’t think anything worth while’s gonna come out of looking for him,” he said, staring at the empty, lit road. The city still managed to look lively, even though nobody else was around. He took a deep breath, and then faced her. “It’s you.”

“Me? Wait a minute, I don’t have – oh, right, my memory and stuff.”

“I know you said you didn’t mind about it and all that, but we haven’t found a thing, even though I promised you. If the others are going to sort everything else out, then I finally have time to look out for you properly. And Naivie won’t be able to complain or drag us away on anything.”

“Oh Lute, you silly thing. You’re really worried about my past, but honestly, I don’t care. It doesn’t mean anything. I’ve made a new life, with new memories and new friends, and I couldn’t ask for better. I don’t need to worry about the old me. If it was important, then something would’ve happened by now.”

“Really? You’re absolutely positively okay with it all?” he asked, tilting his head. She smiled and winked. “You’re not just saying that to stop me from worrying, are you?”

“They only thing I wanna do is go home, kick back, and have a heck of a meal.”

“You and food. But I do agree for once. My stomach feels like it’s gonna eat me inside-out.”

“Ew.”

“Sorry, figure of speech. I really am famished, though,” he said, sweating.

“And, well,” she said, playing with her feelers. “If we are gonna be back in Everend alone for a while… I… look, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d be happy if we spent some time together properly.”


	34. Aseria Evolves

Lute awoke with a lazy yawn and a stretch, followed by a dozy look around the room. Sophitia’s pudgy form lay sprawled out beside him, having stolen most of the blanket while drooling away. Nothing unusual.

He sighed and made his way out of the house, tripping up on a loose stone jutting out from one of the walls. With their new habitat, he kept telling himself he’d figure out a way to sort that. He had to go to the back of the house where a little pond was, where he could dip his face in the water to wake himself up. It was chilly and sent a shiver all the way through him.

He looked out over the town. Just another morning in the new Everend. The town had regressed since its change to natural technology over V-Wave technology, and even after all this time, he still wasn’t really used to it. Food was getting scarce and the only way to wash was through the river water, which had been partially redirected into a lake in the middle of town. Every household in the area had to share it, but thankfully Pokémon were being polite and cooperative with it.

Speaking of those households, all of those had shrunk considerably, too. The brick structures and such remained, but they were more spacious thanks to the lack of technology that was once standard. No fridges or ovens, no light bulbs, no electronic doors, and more. He had a fear that robberies would increase since the change, but thankfully, not one had been reported – in Everend, at least.

Of course, school was off. The entire school and system needed to be rebuilt from scratch, since so much of that building was built with V-Waves in mind. As such, he hadn’t seen his school friends for a while, too.

“Lute?” Sophitia’s voice echoed from within the house. She sounded like she was whining about something, so he made his way back in.

“Morning. Everything okay?” he said, raising an eyebrow. She was squirming a bit, sprawled out on her back.

“Closer, please,” she murmured, half awake. He was wary but obeyed, only to be snatched up by her feelers and brought into a surprise cuddle. She pinned him down with her body, giving him a half-lidded look. “Finally got you, mister hard worker.”

“What’s gotten into you?” he said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t even try to fidget his way out.

“Oh nothing, besides the fact that I’ve been totally ignored for all this time. So much for spending time together,” she said, curling so that her face was close to his. “And I know I know, we needed to rebuild Everend properly and stuff, but we’ve made crazy good progress on that, right?”

“Go on,” he said, still sceptical.

“We should take a break today. Go somewhere special, have some fun. You promised me we would,” she said, giggling a little.

“I did?” he said.

“Pretty sure ya did. But just in case, I ain’t movin’ until you say yes, so pick your next words wisely.”

“Really Sophitia? You’ve been acting so weird lately. You’re doing this again. What’s actually wrong?”

“Urgh. I always have to spell stuff like this out for you,” she said, getting up. She went over to the window and sighed, swaying her head with her thoughts. “I’m bored, okay? Like, really, really bored.”

“Bored?”

“Yeah, bored. I mean I get it, Aseria’s a happier place now. There’s no fighting, the Pokémon are all working together, everyone’s constantly got stuff to do. But I’m a fighter, y’know? All that stuff I did before when we were travelling, I literally live for it,” she said. “I thought you did too, so I thought we were getting closer. Close enough to maybe… I dunno, do something special.”

“With me?” he said, leaning back. “Oh whoa, first thing in the morning. Are you awake right now?”

“_Yes _Lute, I’m _awake_. You might think I’m a lazybones, but I got this strong ‘cos I woke up before sunrise every day,” she said, slumping over. “But since Lassic died, I don’t even have to do that. All we’ve been doing is rebuilding Everend. It’s not me, I just can’t enjoy it.”

“C’mon, can’t you be mature about this? This is life we’re talking about. We have to do this; it’s not going to be the funnest thing in the world. We still have so much to do. We’ve still got crops to plant and fields to make.”

She turned her back to him. “So it’s no, huh? You’re not interested in me?”

“What? No- I just, want to focus on this. And besides,” he said, stepping toward her. He stopped when he saw her face, and shifted back. “Forget it. I just think it’s better we get all this over with first before we really relax.”

“No go on, what were you gonna say?”

“Forget it, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said, stopping when a loud, obnoxious vibration sounded out. The two looked dumbly at each other before realising that it was the King’s Shield badge, although the badge wasn’t nearby. “Er, where is it?”

“You don’t remember where you put it?” she said, scrambling to shuffle through belongings.

“I thought you kept yours nearby or something,” he cried, having to tidy up the room to help find it. It sounded like it was buried under towels and things, so he was throwing those up and everywhere to make space. In his rush, he didn’t realise that she was doing the same, and accidently touched her paw. He flinched hard, but so did she, and their heads bashed together hard enough to have them waddle off in the opposite direction.

“Geez, watch where you’re going,” she cried, flinching again. She had stepped on the badge, and held it up, still rubbing her head with a feeler. “Ugh. Browse!”

“Oh, you found it?” he said, joining her side. He was worse, blinking continuously. The screen fizzed into view before them, revealing Naivie unexpectedly close to it.

“Finally! You guys took your sweet time to answer. Is it ‘cos it’s me calling?” Naivie shouted.

“Naivie? No, why would – we can’t see who’s calling until it’s picked up,” Lute said. “Why are you using this thing, anyway?”

“Because I needed a quick and easy way to get all you weakling’s attention that I know would actually work. Don’t judge me!” she shouted even louder, shaking.

“Okay okay, stop shouting into the badge. It comes up really loud over here,” he said, cringing.

“I need you all to come to the Northern Temple. You remember which one that is, right? The trash island. Reis Island. And you better come quick!”

“What’s happened? Are we needed there?” Sophitia said.

“Well like it or not, we’re all ready to bring back the seasons and stuff. So, you know, it’s only right that the heroes be here to witness it all first-hand and stuff. You know… you’re honoured, VIP guests! So don’t miss it, or I’ll make you wish you were never born!” Naivie shouted her loudest, cutting the call off right there and then.

“Huh, not much longer until we don’t have to put up with her anymore,” Sophitia said, falling on her backside. Lute gave her a look. “I’m only kidding, obviously. Don’t gimme that look. But before we go, can we please don’t something about breakfast?”

“Oh yeah, sure. We’re running on fumes here,” he said, blushing as his own stomach rumbled. “It seems cheeky seeing as we’re about to lose access to all the V-Wave stuff, but we’re going to have to use the Teleportal for this one.”

…

Getting ready was smooth, after that. Sophitia stuffed herself on Lute’s idea of a cooked meal: toasted bread in mixed berry curry, with their remaining gummis on the side. Lute stressed over them possibly being away from the house for a length of time, making sure nothing could rot and that they wouldn’t have anything worth stealing left inside. After about an hour of sorting and preparation, the duo were finally leaving the house to make their way. Everend didn’t actually have a Teleportal, so their route involved a Deposit Box that had been moved to the centre of the town.

To their surprise, they emerged from a Deposit Box right there on Reis Island by the gondola station. The station was still open from the looks of things, but in need of serious repair from when Sophitia had slashed the rail wires. From there, they made their way across the island’s mountainous landscapes, quiet until about halfway to their destination.

“You know what, this is a lot better when you’re not hiding for your life,” Sophitia said, stretching.

“The island’s prettier, too. We weren’t actually here during the day,” he said, admiring its numerous coves and views. The island’s height meant that there were a lot of inlets where the sea could be seen, as well as the distant mainland of Aseria. The rail wires from the gondolas could all be seen connecting to one another. This was the only place he had ever been where multiple islands and the vehicles connecting them were in sight all at once.

“Hey, a little off-topic, but have I ever told you your cooking’s really good?” she said, swaying her head.

“My cooking? Really?” he said, scratching his face.

“Yeah, seriously. Where’d you learn?”

“I just copied Mum. She’s way better than me, though.”

“Well I’m not gonna dispute that. But just, if what you made today is what you can do on like, limited bread and instant meals, then I can’t wait to see what you do with a full berry garden. Just thinking about it’s making me hungry again,” she said, looking up and licking her lips.

“Eheh. Well er, I am happy you like,” he said, rubbing his face again. “I don’t think it’s that special, though.”

“Don’t be so shy, it’s a compliment,” she giggled. “Er, where do we go from here?”

“The temple’s on the other side of the mountain. Er, we can climb over,” he said, drifting off. The mountain was tall and rugged enough to give a flying type a challenge. He gulped, turning to the valley of water down below. “We better just go the way we came before.”

“Ugh. Was hoping we wouldn’t have to get wet,” she sighed.

“Didn’t you say you liked this stuff?”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to drown myself getting to and from a place. Underwater’s not my forte,” she said, following him anyway. With a reluctant nod, they took deep breaths and dived, pushing their way through the valley.

He didn’t have to sneak like last time, but it was still irritating to get through the tightening walls. He felt nervous and claustrophobic from how close the jagged, dirty walls would get to him, and how he had to tiptoe sideways just to squeeze through. That was until he got about halfway through this part, and some new settings started to become clear.

As the walls spread out and he reached the far end of the valley, new scenery unlike anything he could ever have imagined started to become clear. There was enough space for him to swim properly, but he couldn’t help but slow down to get a good look at it all. Dandelions were growing on the riverbed, whole entire fields of them that covered the entirety of the floor for miles. To his sides, the walls were clean orange rock, a mighty departure from the decomposed trash he expected to find. The water was crystal clear, too.

His chest started to ache a bit, and bubbles leaking from his mouth reminded him where he was. He kicked himself upward, realising that he was far deeper than expected, too. He let out a grumble of frustration, shutting his eyes and forcing himself to keep his mouth shut, but even though was difficult. By the time he breached the surface, he was splashing about and gasping like he was drowning, having to take a full minute before he caught his breath.

“Ahaha, c’mon Lute! You can do better than that,” Sophitia said, popping up beside him. She shook herself off, but she didn’t seem to have nearly as much issue with catching her breath. He wanted to snap at her, but seeing her smile made him rethink.

“Sorry, I really am not that good at diving,” he said. “What is all this, though? Everything’s clean, and there’s way more water than last time.”

“Down here. It looks prettier,” she said, going back under.

“So much for not wanting to get wet,” he said, rolling his eyes.

He paddled ahead a little before joining her, finding her way deeper than expected. He could recognise the hill they originally walked down to reach the temple, which was now totally underwater. But it was all clean, natural field with not just dandelions, but sunflowers and even a few growing trees. They all swayed in the current, shimmering a mixture of colours in the water’s refracting light.

“It looks so beautiful,” Sophitia said, her voice muffled. He opened his mouth to agree, only to immediately choke and have to surface again. She watched him with a smile, giggling to herself.

“You’re really not very good at this, are you?” she said, popping up beside him again.

“N-no. Wa-wait a second, you can talk underwater?” he cried.

“It’s easy. Is that really not a normal thing Pokémon can do?” she said.

“No, it’s really not! Ah, guess I’m never going swimming with you ever,” he groaned.

“Oh yes we are. You wanted me to help you get stronger, right? That’s being added to your training regime, mister,” she said, half lidded. “In fact, why don’t we start right now?”

She dove into him and pushed him under, giving him the fright of his life. He just about managed to take a breath before he was stuck under and wrestling with her, but it was only until he managed to break free of her feelers that he realised that she wasn’t being serious. She was barely even trying to trap him, instead tickling him with her feelers at most. It still made him cough though, and he wound up cradling her as his source of support for staying on the surface.

“Sophitia, stop it!” he cried.

“Not until you say you’re gonna swim with me,” she sung, pressing him back under.

“Geez I wasn’t being serious- okay okay, I get it I will!” he cried, and she finally stopped, letting him catch his breath. “You’re so playful lately… I-I’m not scared or anything, but can we at least go see Naivie before she calls us again?”

“Bah, Naivie can wait. I wanna check out this gorgeous place,” she said, laughing in glee. He groaned a little, stuck cradling her. Sneaking a glance at her though, he rethought his ideas again.

She looked genuinely happy, and more than he had seen her look in a long while. Her eyes were gleaming and her tail was wagging nonstop. He went blank while she giggled and splashed her way ahead.

“You gonna let go of me anytime soon? I wanna dive again,” she said, bringing that sunniness over to him. He blushed a bit, and then returned with a light smile of his own.

“Er, I’m not that good, so mind if I hold on?” he said, crawling up onto her back.

“Oh alright. Just this once. Gimme a tap if you wanna surface,” she said, kicking into high gear.

To his surprise, she leapt right out of the water with graceful ease, and landed directly on top of it. She was skipping with her usual gait, tapping off the surface like it wasn’t water, almost like she was dancing across it. His mouth was agape as he was brought over to new scenery thanks to this, a view of the open ocean that this drowned area led to. Some woodland was sticking up out of the water, literal treetops swaying in the current like little islands of leaves and branches.

“Here we go!” she said, leaping especially high. He made a squeak but took a deep breath right before they dove in, entering the underwater world.

He had to take a second or two to adjust his eyes to being underwater again, but once he did, he nearly gasped. The trees were the midst of a growing forest, right here in this underwater mountain field. It was like the forest nearby Everend, only far more tropical and colourful thanks to the clear water and colourful flowers everywhere. There were petals flowing in the current, herds of tiny Remoraid and Goldeen, and more all around them.

And even more impressive was Sophitia herself. He clutched her tightly, but that didn’t impede her smooth movements at all. She weaved her way through the area like a Milotic in its prime, stretching her feelers to wrap them around the nearby trunks and branches. She launched her body like a pebble in a slingshot, propelling through the water faster than he could’ve imagined.

His chest started to irk him again, so he squeezed and tapped her. She giggled, but promptly shot for the surface, breaching it with an upbeat cheer of laughter. Lute cried out from how high they went, expecting them to plummet right back into the water. But she danced on top of it again, stopping once she reached a treetop that was sticking out.

“Whoa. I thought you said water wasn’t your forte? How are you this good?” he cried.

“I dunno, I seriously just discovered all this! But look out over there, those are islands, right?” she said, pointing. He had to lean forward and shake some water out of his face, but surely enough, she wasn’t mistaken. Large islands off in the distance, just about poking out of this new stretch of ocean.

“It is. But they don’t have gondolas going- wait a minute,” he gasped, whipping out his King’s Shield badge. He brought up its holographic screen and tapped a few things on it. “I know I said I wouldn’t use this thing anymore, but… no, I was right. These islands aren’t on the map!”

“Not at all? So they’re undiscovered islands?” she said, leaning forward too.

“They are. And they look big enough for Pokémon to live on,” he said, shivering. He put the badge away, unable to stop staring at them. “How didn’t anybody discover this? Pokémon probably live there and stuff, yet the rest of Aseria has no idea that they’re there.”

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” she said, half lidded.

“Aww… but we do have to get back. Naivie and the others are probably ranting about us by now,” he said.

“I was actually gonna say you’re still on my back and your face is _awfully_ close to mine,” she pointed out, making him realise. Their cheeks were practically touching, so he wildly withdrew, trying to cover his face.

“Ah, don’t say stuff like that! I didn’t mean to,” he cried.

“Ehee hee, oh Lute, I’m just teasing. I don’t mind, really. But we’re gonna check those islands out soon, right?” she proposed.

“Definitely. They’re a bit too far away to swim to, though.”

“I just wanted to know if you wanted to. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” she said, heading back. “Just, this is my idea of a day out with you.”

He went quiet at that. “_Is that really what she wanted? Just a chance to hang out?_”

She leapt across the top of the water back to the mainland of Reis Island, and then followed her memory to go to where the temple originally was. All of that area was underwater now so there was a bit of doubt and hesitation, but after a little while, a new island came into view, an island large enough for them to stand on. By the time they got there, Sophitia was panting though.

“You okay?” he said as she leaned against a rock.

“Y-yeah. Ha, just gimme a minute or two,” she said. “I was running for quite a while! Swimming’s a real workout, too.”

He looked around, curious about the familiar feeling this small island had. It was shaped like yet another one of Reis’ many inlets, but with a huge mountain walling the backside of it and a cave entrance looming before them, he couldn’t wait to explore it. He shivered from the cold wetness of it all, though. The whole area was dripping and damp, right down to its sticky flooring.

“Oh, wait. This is the temple,” he said, drawing parallels. “The temple must’ve floated while the rest of island started sinking.”

“Then we’re here,” she said, wandering ahead. “That’s another mystery, by the way. We gotta figure out why all the trash disappeared and why the island started sinking. I’m almost certain both aren’t good things.”

“You were really upset about all the landfill here, too,” he said, joining her. Inside the cave was the wide area where they fought Silver, and beyond that, the entrance to the temple.

“Finally. You guys took your Arceus damn time,” Kuri said, coming off from leaning on a rock.

“Lute, Sophitia!” Esther cried, charging toward them.

“Esther, everyone. Sorry, we er,” Lute trailed off, looking over them all. Naivie was the only one that looked mad. “We had some important stuff to sort out back home. Really slowed us down.”

“Ooh. Juicy stuff?” Esther said.

“Esther please,” Infia said, rolling her eyes. “Sorry I didn’t come and visit. I hope my house wasn’t too hard to deal with and stuff.”

“We actually left a lot of it the same. We didn’t want to mess with your stuff,” he said, smiling. “Er, I’m surprised, Infia. You don’t have a new costume or anything?”

“I do, but if this is going to be our last little adventure together, I thought I might as well go classic,” she said, brushing her shirt and skirt. “Don’t worry. You’ll get to see my first show soon.”

“Show? You girls got a routine already?” Sophitia said.

“Heck yeah. Lute, you missed out big time. Infia’s a natural, and I mean, she’s really got the moves!” Esther said.

“Don’t, you’re gonna make me blush,” she said, shaking her paws.

“In case you guys didn’t realise, this is _not_ a family reunion!” Naivie shouted, popping between them all.

“This is literally a family reunion,” Phoenix said, pressing her down. “And now that you’re here, I’m going to have to tell you all off for not visiting Angard.”

“Angard? Wait, have you been working there, Phoenix?” Lute said.

“Oh brother,” Kuri said, rolling his eyes.

“Pokétopia didn’t need any help, so I just went to help there. And the progress is going impeccably. Turns out that despite the fact that Pokémon relied a lot on tools, a lot of them still remember how to be Pokémon. Building is actually _easier_ when you use your powers to do it rather than a crane.”

“You know what, I was actually thinking the same! Making all the new homes in Everend’s been way easier than I imagined it’d be,” Lute said.

“That’s because you’ve been doing all the easy stuff, gathering stones and stuff. I’ve been doing all the heavy lifting, and literally!” Sophitia said, pinching him with a feeler.

“Oh Lute, how could you? Leaving a lady to do the heavy lifting, for shame,” Kuri said, a cocky smile on his face.

“You try carrying stones three times your weight! It’s not that easy,” Lute said.

“Oh yeah. I have Phoenix to do that for me. Gen and I have been on holiday,” he said, arms folded.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to do that?” Sophitia said. “Gentlemanly advice is the last thing I wanna hear from you.”

“He’s teasing you. He’s actually done way more than Genesis has,” Phoenix said.

“He better be!”

“They’re competing over who can do more.”

“Oh. Of course.”

“But what about the real juicy stuff, the juicy stuff!” Esther said, bouncing between them all. “Go on, tell me all about it. What’ve you two been getting away with, havin’ a house to yourself and all that?”

“We haven’t been doing anything. And even if we did, like I’d tell you!” Sophitia cried, blushing a little.

“Aww, the first timers are always so shy,” she sung.

“No, I mean it. Me and Lute have been hard at work. That’s why we were late today,” she said, glancing at him. He smiled that she played along with his lie.

“Huh, seriously? But wait a minute, weren’t you,” she said, a finger on her lip. Sophitia raised an eyebrow, making her snort. “Excuse me a second everyone!”

“Esther—” was all Lute could say before she was off, dragging Sophitia so quickly that a cloud of dust remained in their wake.

Esther left the cave and ran to the side of the island, stopping and ensuring they weren’t followed. Once certain, she let Sophitia’s paw go, and then pouted at her. “Are you like, totally for real now? You and Lute didn’t do _anything_?”

“The only lie was that we were curious about this area being underwater. It’s no use getting Naivie mad and admitting we mucked about on the way here.”

“Aww my gosh, what? Ah, the actual heck Sophitia? How can you have such an opportunity and do nothing about it?”

“I don’t even know exactly what you’re talking about, you know. Seriously, why did you drag me all the way out here?”

“Really? We’re playing dumb, too?” Esther said. Sophitia tilted her head, making her sigh. “Alright. Look, it’s super obvious. I can feel the sad aura oozing from you. You really like Lute, like, love him, right? And we all know how stories like this end in the plays. You can’t have a whole journey with someone you like, get a house to yourself for two weeks and not do _anything_. It’s like, literally against the rules!”

“Well your first mistake is trying to ship other Pokémon together. I thought we were through with this from Infia?” Sophitia said.

“No no, it’s not a ship if it’s true! Don’t lie to yourself. I can sense these things from a mile off, I _know_ when someone’s suffering from feelings,” she said, pointing at her.

“Bold claims for someone who couldn’t tell who Infia had feelings for,” Sophitia said.

“Hey in my defence, I didn’t known what a lebsian- lesbiab- lesiban- ah, I didn’t know girls could go with girls, ‘kay? I seriously had a whole epiphany with that,” she said, flinching. “But this ain’t about me. Did he not even say anything?”

“Not a thing. All focused on rebuilding the town, day by day.”

“Aww. I knew the kid was as dense as peanut porridge, but wow, no wonder you’ve got it so bad. You need to say something, Sophie.”

Sophitia growled and looked away, feeling her face heat up a little. “I have, okay? I tease, I play, I be extra nice, he’s just not interested.”

“Did you sit him down to talk?”

“I did. Sorta. This morning, actually.”

“And did you ask him out at least?”

“No. Yes? Again, sorta?”

Esther sighed again and started pacing, hopping up to sit on one of the rocks. “Y’know, in my little experience with Infia, I learnt a lot. I mean I get it, most girls want boys to just, man up and pop the question. But I just have to ask, why?”

“Why?”

“Yeah. Infia didn’t have a boy to wait for, y’know? And you know how shy she is. But she wanted something so bad, she broke all those unwritten rules and just talked to me about it,” she said, playing with her tutu. “So why not you, too? If you really wanna be with Lute, why don’t you just talk about it properly?”

“Again though, your problem is your assumption that we’re struggling with a relationship of some kind,” Sophitia said, turning her back. “I just really like adventuring. And when I met him, I was sure he did, too. I thought we’d be travelling forever, but, turns out I might be wrong.”

“If you’re serious about it, make sure you ask him out. Preferably before he goes back to school and stuff,” Esther said, landing on her back.

“Tell you what. I’ll ask him if you promise to get outta the habit of trying to be privy of everyone’s relationships,” Sophitia said, turning back.

“I can’t make that promise. I wanna know all the saucy stuff, ‘cos maybe I could learn a thing or two,” she said, tucking her paws behind her head. She fell right back too, kicking her legs up happily.

“You’re shameless,” Sophitia said, palming her face.

“Not shameless, just nosy. Hey, come back! It’s not that embarrassing, is it?”

They came back to find Naivie had quietened the group, fluttering between them. As soon as they got there Naivie flew right into their noses, sending them reeling back in irritation.

“Took you furry louts long enough! The day will be over if we mess about any longer. And I ain’t waitin’!” the little fairy screamed.

“Geez alright, I’m sorry. No need to hit me so hard,” Esther moaned.

“You asked for it.”

“I didn’t ask for—”

“Shut up, just shut up already! Gods, it really is like dealing with a bunch of children sometimes,” Naivie cried.

“I mean, they are. So I don’t really know what you’re expecting,” Kuri said, shrugging. “But you’ve got our attention now, so yeah, let’s get to it.”

Naivie gave him a leer, growling. “Just follow me. And try not to get distracted like children.”

“No fun allowed, huh?” Phoenix said.

“I called you all here because Aseria is starting to reach its limit, as evidenced by this island’s drastic change in circumstances. None of you realised while you were journeying because you warped around a lot, but certain disasters are starting to occur. The sea is rising, and the land is shrinking,” she said, heading straight into the temple. “As you’re no doubt aware, Reis Island has seen the biggest effect. The island is mostly underwater now.”

“But it somehow cleaned off all the landfill?” Sophitia said, tilting her head.

“Not exactly. There was actually an eruption here. Tectonic plates are starting to forcibly shift. We’ll get all kinds of nasty eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis soon if we don’t do something,” Naivie said. “But, everyone’s been making stunning progress. If Pokétopia is anything to go by, then I have no doubt in my mind that you Pokémon really can cope.”

“So you brought us away from our work, why?” Kuri said.

“So that you can witness the evolution of Aseria with your own eyes,” she said, positioning herself above the ancient flower. “Congratulations, heroes. You are about to see everything you’ve been working towards come to fruition. For Aseria to go back to being the way it’s supposed to be. For Pokémon to…”

“Heh. I suppose that is cause for a little celebration,” Lute said.

“Celebration? Yes. I should thank all of you for going through with all of this. It’s just a bit of a shame, really,” she said.

“A shame?” Infia said.

“Yeah. A shame that I’ve had to bring you into one place like this. But I won’t dwell anymore,” she said, starting to glow. “It just makes my job a little easier.”

Confusion swept across the group, but before they could question it, a massive cylinder of light enveloped Naivie and the ancient flower below her. She cried out for a moment, and then seemed to brace herself to resist it, letting out struggled grunts and moans. The group stepped forward to help but were stopped by a squint of her eyes, almost as though she were smiling.

And then the energy filled the ground, lighting up the altar around them, and with it, Naivie plummeted to the ground like a lifeless doll. Heavy wind blew against them, ruffling the petals and vines of the flower. All the while, the cave around them began to gain life, gaining colour, soil, grass, and more by the second. In just moments, they were stood in a cave that smelt beautifully of pollen, surrounded by grassland and golden dust in the air.

“Naivie!” Esther let out a panicked cry. The heavenly choir coming from it all wouldn’t distract from the fact that the tiny Carbink was lying on the floor, nearly motionless. She looked as though she was dying right before their eyes, straining to flap her tiny wings.

“Naivie, wait what’s happening?” Sophitia gasped, coming to her aid. She attempted to pick Naivie up with her feelers, but a spark from an invisible barrier got in the way. Amongst all the light and nature growing around her, she noticed the Shaymin was awake and watching her. It was changing into its sky form as well, and promptly took off out of the cave.

“Guys, look out here,” Kuri said, revealing he was by the cave exit. They all exchanged glances and then jogged after him, stopping by the exit to the cave.

The Shaymin had become a golden glow streaking through the sky, soon joined by three other gold lights – the other Shaymin. They gathered toward the centre of Aseria, forming one huge light that was blinding to look at, even from their distance. That light ascended into the grey clouds, instantly warming up the colours and leaving a golden glitter to rain from the sky.

Even though he had just seen Naivie’s predicament, an incredible relief began to take over Lute. He couldn’t divert his eyes away from the sky, while a smile snuck its way onto his face. It started with rays of natural light poking through the clouds in places, and then a natural breeze blowing against his fur.

“We… we did it,” he whispered. Nature was spreading throughout the world right before their eyes, as the blanket of clouds began to part and the sun peaked through. Flowers bloomed around them where there was once rock, and looking down at Reis Island, all over the surface there, too. The water suddenly splashed up against the island as a tide returned, while waves from a visible current filled the ocean.

Without really thinking about it, he raised a paw and linked it with Sophitia’s, the two of them staring at the beautiful range of colours forming before them. He leaned on her a bit, too. All he could think about was how happy he was to see it all after so long. It was impossible to imagine how colourless and dry the world looked before, especially how quickly it had all reformed, too.

And then, a horrible noise boomed across the sky, and massive shockwave blew across it. The clouds above Pokétopia split in an instant, swirling into a pit around a dark object.

“What?” he whispered, his smile vanishing.

Another shockwave, and this one was strong enough to send a blast of wind across the whole world, which hit them even from here. The clouds had vanished from the sky completely, revealing not the sun, but a massive object that was generating a solar eclipse. It was easy to think of it as a planet, but it was so close to them that its surface could be made out.

“What, is that?” Esther said, shifting back.

“Is that the moon?” Infia said, pointing out its greyish colours and craters.

“That’s not the moon, that’s a… I don’t know what that is. It’s a planet, but it couldn’t be,” Kuri said, clenching his fists. A powerful roar made them all flinch, and they turned back to the temple. Dark rays were coming from it. The group exchanged glances and rushed back in.

“Naivie?” Sophitia gasped.

She was mutating in a similar fashion to Lassic, taking on a white glow while her body expanded, gained, and threw away features to attain a new form. Her little wings were expanding into long, straight, hard arms with solid claws on the end. Her overall size grew drastically, becoming taller and wider than the ancient flower behind her. And when the light burst away from her, she smashed to the ground with a triumphant, intimidating roar.

“Did she evolve?” Lute cried, gawking.

“I can’t be,” Sophitia whispered. She was shuddering hard.

Naivie had a mouth now, a maw lined with fangs with a wider bottom jaw than the top. Her eyes were solid blue, with no pupils or light reflecting at all. Her fluffy muffler was similar to before, but had a fiery sphere in the centre. Otherwise, her body was relatively the same as a Carbink’s, only oversized and monstrous sounding. She had to balance herself using her new claws, but loomed over the party and laughed maniacally.

“Sophitia… Remember me?”


	35. Aseria's Last Crisis

** **

“What is this? What just what happened to you, Naivie?” Esther said, staggering back alongside everyone. Naivie’s colossal form leaned over them, laughing to herself. “Did you evolve?”

“Evolve? No. I was supposed to have regained my original form, but it appears that isn’t fully possible right now. But it doesn’t matter. Like this, I’m strong enough to crush you all if you decline my master’s demands,” Naivie said, her voice very low and a little distorted.

“Your master’s wishes?” Lute said.

“Let’s save ourselves some time and exposition and cut straight to the chase, shall we? Let the lady speak for you,” Naivie said, baring her claws. Her form toppled a little, forcing her to put them down again to keep balanced. All eyes turned to Sophitia, who was going pale. “So go on! Our conquest begins now. We’re going to reclaim what was once ours.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, though,” Sophitia said, looking down. Her voice was so quiet and uncertain.

“Don’t waste our time, champion. We’ve been waiting generations for this!” Naivie raised her voice, leaning forward.

“No no no, I really don’t know! I promise, I mean it,” she pleaded, bowing her head. Naivie’s eyes thinned, and she leaned back.

“_She’s so afraid. This isn’t like Sophitia at all,_” Lute realised, staring at her.

“Nothing? You mean to say that amnesia excuse is actually real? That you don’t remember anything prior to meeting Lute in that cave?” Naivie said. Sophitia didn’t answer. “You don’t remember me or my original appearance? You don’t remember Artemis, Diancie, or our accursed home, Balunercc?”

There was silence besides Sophitia’s whimpering and the echoing choir of the altar. That brought Naivie to go half lidded, growling at them. “To think that I spent all this time playing along with your asinine little game. Do you know how pathetic I felt? How foolish I looked? How _long_ I waited for you get your act together?”

“Whatever’s going on, this was your plan all along, wasn’t it? You’re using the V-Waves from the temples to power yourself up,” Esther said, readying her baton.

“Quiet, peasants. You fools have nothing to do with this.”

“To hell with that. We have everything to do with this, bitch!” You can’t tell me we went through all of this just for you to—” Esther shouted, getting cut off by Naivie’s attempt to smash her. She hopped back to avoid it, but stumbled and fell on her backside.

“Esther!” Infia cried. The others were all ready for battle, now.

“You got one thing right, and that was that I deceived you,” Naivie said. “Heroes? Chosen ones? All a load of nothing. None of you are anything special in the slightest. Ordinary Pokémon, the lot of you. Except Sophitia.”

“That can’t be true. The temples reacted to us. W-we could go to Moand Dia,” Lute said.

“The temples reacted to me and Sophitia, fool! Once Artemis’ champion, but now a lowly Sylveon, head over heels in a petty teenage romance. It’s a shameful waste, but whatever. You’re useless to us, now. I have the go ahead to get rid of you all, and I’m going to enjoy it,” she said, clenching her claws. “That is, unless of course, you pledge your alliance to me. I’m sure we ancients could find some use for you, still.”

“None of us have any idea what the hell you’re talking about, but it doesn’t look the slightest bit good,” Kuri said. “I spent my entire life avoiding sucking up to Lassic after he committed genocide. What makes you think I’d succumb to a new leader?”

“The fact that you don’t have a choice in the matter. Bow down to me, or die,” she said, leaning forward.

“Naivie, just- stop. What’s going on? What’s Balunercc? What’s the planet in the sky? And why did you change into this?” Lute said, taking centre stage.

“Nothing I’m going to answer. You don’t need to know!”

Lute gritted his fangs. “Then we’re going to assume it’s evil, and we’re going to stop you.”

“You know, in my noble position, it is only right to ensure that you aren’t going to do anything that you’re going to regret. Is that your absolute, final answer?” Naivie said, leaning forward.

There was a pause, but everyone’s answer was to pose for battle. Electricity sparked, flames puffed up, and energy visibly flowed through the group. Sophitia was last, readying her sword and shield.

“So you’ve chosen death. Inevitable for ordinary Pokémon. But Sophitia, I expected better,” Naivie said.

The giant Carbink monster stood tall and stretched her arms up, and then brought both claws down. Even though the group jumped away from the attack, the sheer force of her palms smashing into the ground shook everything around them, bringing the group to the floor. Naivie was unaffected by that, and cried out loud as she flew straight into a follow-up attack. A bright set of sparkling wings flashed on her back for a moment, propelling her forward, where her claws collided directly with Sophitia’s shield.

“A perfect parry. Just what I expect from Artemis’ champion. It’s almost like you’re lying to me,” Naivie said. The two of them were stuck against a wall in the corner of the room, Sophitia half buried in an indent in the ground.

“Why don’t you believe me- that I don’t remember?” Sophitia growled, holding her shield with both paws and two feelers. Just as Naivie brought her other claw forward to push against the shield, she brushed both claws off and slipped away to the side, avoiding continued strikes from Naivie. As the giant Carbink kept smashing the ground, the Sylveon darted around and all over Naivie, kicking off her head to get back to the centre of the room.

“Because you can do things like that. No normal Pokémon could put up this much of a fight,” Naivie said, glaring at her. A Moonblast was charged between her claws, prompting Sophitia to charge the same attack. Both of their moves collided, creating a massive explosion of dust and smoke. A powerful shockwave came with it, keeping everyone else back.

Sophitia didn’t have time to rest, though. Before the smoke cleared, she knew to raise her shield and stand strong. Naivie came right through and crashed into her, claws bared and grinding against the magical weapon.

“You mean to tell me that you’ve never once thought about it, considered what you could really be? All the battles you’ve been in, knowing you’ve had the power to end them in an instant,” Naivie said. “I could see you were holding back. Hesitating, not out of fear of death, but because you didn’t want to give yourself away. I watched you do it with Project Dragonlord, and Lassic!”

Sophitia was trying to respond, but couldn’t do so on top of her struggled parries. She was guarding against Naivie’s claws, but the sheer size and force behind each attack was knocking her whole body haywire. The best she could do was step backward and jump whenever the ground shook, constantly looking back to make sure she wasn’t backing into a wall.

With all the heavy impacts to the ground however, the temple was quickly transforming into a ruin that threatened to come apart. Massive ditches were left whenever Naivie moved, while huge indents caused rocks and dust to erupt sporadically. Before long, the whole group were in a crumbling cavern, shielding themselves from a rain of boulders and pillars.

“Everyone, are you there?” Lute cried out on top of all the destruction. Just then, part of the ceiling came right down on top of him, but he was saved by Esthia diving through him. “Esther?”

“It’s Esthia, get it right already!” she said, landing on top of more rubble than he was expecting to see. She continued to run and hop across it all, to which he followed.

In the middle of all the dust and destruction, Sophitia cried out as she freed herself. She coughed and panted, forced back into focus by Naivie landing beside her. She moaned a bit, staggering and pointing her sword forward.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about at all. Who is Artemis?” Sophitia said. She was smacked aside by a backhand, winded as she hit the ball hard.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? You know full well who he is. You know full well who you are, and it’s annoying me to no end that you’re continuing to feign ignorance,” Naivie said, jumping closer again. She pointed a nail at Sophitia as she struggled to stand. “I really don’t want to lose you, you know. Artemis might despise you, but I see something different. You continued to work hard and become as strong as you did, and not in the name of vengeance. You were the perfect champion, truly dedicated to servitude.”

“So I- ah, so I should know who he is, huh?” she huffed, holding her sword up again. She had one eye shut and was barely stood up on wobbling legs.

“So why? Why forsake everything you worked towards and become… this? I mean, look at you!” Naivie said. She moved frighteningly fast, scooping up Sophitia in a flash. The fairy struggled in her grip, forced to stare into her face. “You could’ve had it all. The greatest honours of the Ancients, the respect to be crowned a queen… infinite life. But you would really forfeit it all just so that you could live alongside peasants like these? They’re not even your species!”

Just then, Naivie was struck hard by Kuri, given a brief moment to turn and see what she had been struck by. He was glowing with his Overgrow boost, and turned his attack into Frenzy Plant without delay. Gigantic vines burst from his arm and enveloped Naivie’s head, exploding so hard that she cried out and toppled aside, dropping Sophitia in the process.

“I’ve got you,” Phoenix said, catching and carrying her to safety. She could barely whimper a response.

“Now’s our chance, Lute. Let’s hit ‘em hard,” Esthia cheered, raising a fist. With a twirl and a twist of her palms, she revealed two glowsticks and lit them both up with a tap on her cheeks, turning them into crackling pompoms. “We’re not lettin’ you escape, Naivie!”

To their surprise, Naivie recovered from Kuri’s attack without so much as a scratch, and glared at the duo angrily. Kuri landed beside them and seemed equally as surprised, refraining from jumping after her. Esthia ignored it though, firing her electric pompoms with a thrust of her palms.

“Esthia, don’t!” Kuri shouted, sticking an arm out. Lute attempted to give chase, but was pulled back by his tail. “Not you too, you idiot! If Overgrow doesn’t do any damage, what chance does V-Wave power?”

“But Esthia!” he said. Kuri growled, keeping his eyes on the fight.

Naivie didn’t even move, letting the fusion pelt her with electrical blasts and other fancy moves. The hits were making her flinch and shut her eyes, letting out grunts of aggravation, but anything resembling real damage didn’t exist. Esthia eventually stopped, landing on a mountain of rubble.

“Holy sugar, what’s this thing made of? I knew Carbink were defensive, but this is something else,” Esthia cried. Naivie slowly turned to face her, eyes squinting and claws bared again. “Eeep!”

“Do you understand, now? The vast difference between us?” she said. “You are mortals of a modern generation. Weak, useless, inferior, reliant on the group effort of slaves or machines. The likes of you could never hope to even scratch my hide.”

“And you are?” Sophitia said, still standing. Phoenix was stood over her protectively, but she still took centre stage with her sword out. “Just because you’re turning into some kinda heartless monster, that doesn’t make you better!”

“But you know exactly what I am. After all, you have that same power for yourself. If only you weren’t trying so desperately to throw it all away,” she said, aiming a palm at them. Pink particles began to gather before it, forming into a giant Moonblast. Even when they expected it to be fired however, she held it, adding more and more energy until it was an unstable bomb storming with crackling energy.

“Don’t just stand there, burst that thing!” Esthia shouted, landing by the team. The group combined their efforts, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, and Swift all coming together in a wild volley. The attacks hit their target, but dissolved harmlessly.

“It can’t be,” Kuri whispered, while the others were speechless.

Lute stared, finally beginning to whimper. He couldn’t believe what he was part of right now. Not just the fact that Naivie had betrayed them like this, but the fact that he and his group turned out to be completely helpless. He truly didn’t know what to say or do, staring down this awful attack that tore apart the world before him. All the rock and earth around Naivie was floating up and disintegrating in the awe of her Moonblast, and soon enough, he couldn’t even see her behind its storming surface. It almost looked like if she unleashed it, the attack might swallow the whole world.

“Farewell, Pokémon,” Naivie said, springing his mind into fright. He had to get out of here, and now.

But it was too late. All went silent once she let the attack go. The noise of it ripping through the ground made him deaf, and the light of its core lit up his friend’s desperate faces. All he could do was turn around and make a useless lunge for safety, not even having the time to say his last prayer.

The last thing her saw upon turning around was Sophitia leaping in the opposite direction to him, directly into this world-destroying Moonblast. Now he knew what it was like for time to freeze around him. Total fear, confusion, and desperation took over his whole being, bringing a million questions and cries with them, all in an instant. He knew he couldn’t do anything to stop whatever she was doing, and that was what brought the pain first.

He was made deaf again, this time in both reality and in his body’s senses. A catastrophic blast of wind struck him harder than a truck, while energy in the form of electrical streams surged through him, feeling like it was burning every fibre of his being to nothing. And before it was all over, a heavy impact to his back jolted his fragile form so hard it stole his breath. He landed on a surface that was so cold it was burning, completely drained of all strength and awareness. Whatever was left of his conscious was a blurry daze that viewed the world sideways, and a head-splitting bleep noise playing without cease.

Cohesive thought had but a moment left, and with it, he witnessed what looked like Sophitia standing strong. She had an enormous, circular shield of light in front of her, but it was flickering out of view. And then everything faded into blurry darkness, all noise and feeling disappearing from him.

As for Sophitia, she had protected her friends. She didn’t know how, but she had mitigated a massive fraction of the Moonblast with that giant shield she brought up. It drained what little strength she had left, and she fell on her side, breathing hoarsely through her mouth.

“Unbelievable!” Naivie cried. “That would have killed them and destroyed this entire island with ease. You managed to weaken it _that_ much?”

There was no response for a while, and then Sophitia attempted to stand. She took in a breath, grinded her fangs hard, and gradually began to shift her way up, keeping a furious glare on Naivie. Naivie could only stare back in surprise as well. In fact, she shifted back, letting out a sound of concern. But when it looked like the Sylveon might take a step, her eyes went dead, and she fell forward lifelessly. Her breathing ceased, her twitches stopped, and complete silence fell.

“All this effort to protect your friends, even though they’re just weak, pathetic Pokémon of the modern era. And for what, to buy them a few more seconds of life?” Naivie said, raising her claw. “And to think that you had me worried for a moment.”

She brought her claw down to crush Sophitia, but halted very suddenly, grunting from the effort to resist. “Master?”

Silence.

“I don’t see what purpose leaving them alive will do, but if it is your wish, then so be it. What would you have me do now, my lord?” she said, looking up.

Silence for another moment.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much I’ve missed being by your side. I will return to Balunercc with utmost haste.”

…

Lute awoke very suddenly, but mentally, first. He was aware he was dreaming, clenching his eyelids shut while he steadied his breathing. Some impatient thoughts surfaced, and he forced himself to open his eyes and sit up. Big mistake.

He sat up to a searing ache that tore through him. He silently wailed and wrenched back over to his side, eventually letting out a choke and a gasp. His whole body hurt like it was on fire.

“_Dang it. I don’t have time for this,_” he cried in his head. “_Okay Lute. You’ve been through this. One step at a time._”

First thing was first, to check whether he was actually alive or not. He certainly felt like he was alive. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked away tears of pain. He was on a mattress in a warm room of wood and stone walls. Beside him were a few makeshift beds made of cushions and things. Some had patches of dried blood on them.

As his view focused, he felt familiarity, and then recognition. He was at home, his new home remodelled to not use technology. The extra beds clearly accounted for his friends, but they were all empty.

“I must,” he whispered, finding his mouth dry and horrible tasting. His body still hurt, but it wasn’t enough to paralyse him down like it did earlier. With heavy breaths and a tough bracing, he wobbled to the floor, barely standing. The sound of thumping could be heard from the other room coming right towards him.

“Lute!” Marina cried, bursting in. He let down his guard the moment he saw it was her. She didn’t hesitate to run over and cradle him, but with obvious awareness that he was in pain. “Thank goodness you’re alive. Oh thank gods.”

“Mum,” he muttered.

“He’s awake?” other familiar voices called out from behind. He had to look over her, finding Pokémon he wasn’t expecting to find. His school friends, Raiju and Cinder, were fighting to get into the room first. The Jolteon came out on top, but stopped behind Marina instead of body slamming them like he looked like he was going to do. Esther and Infia were right behind them, and stopped in the doorway.

“You guys,” Lute muttered.

“You should get back into bed. You’re in no condition to be up,” Marina said. “Here, some water.”

“Wait what? Weren’t we,” he muttered, looking away. The moment he got offered the water bowl, he dove in and took several gulps. Just that made him feel a lot better, cooling off and getting his breath back. His memories came back to him in a flash, and he flinched, cringing. “Naivie. All that stuff with Naivie, what happened?”

“We heard from Phoenix and the others already. Please, rest,” Marina said, carrying him onto the mattress. He took her offer and settled down, but he was focused on them.

“Honestly, dude. I dunno what to say. It’s been ages, and all this happened?” Raiju said. “I can’t believe you’re the same kid.”

“I really wanna give you a talking to, but now really doesn’t seem like the time,” Cinder said, looking away. “But… it really does hurt to see you like this.”

“Cinder?”

“I mean it, dude. I dunno what you think of us, but when I learnt that you left on a whole other journey without us, I kept telling myself it was okay. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I thought that if something like that ever happened, we’d all be on it together,” he said, growling. “And now you’re here, badly hurt with all this stuff going on, and all I have is sympathy to show for it.”

“What he’s really trying to say is let us take over from here,” Raiju said cheerfully. “That big brute who beat you up, let us help you out and take care of it. We’ll make mince pie of it!”

“Guys,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “You can’t do that. You know you can’t.”

“Hey don’t underestimate us. Remember, we’re—”

“No Raiju!” Lute said, leaning forward. “How much did you learn? Not just about what happened here, but the whole journey altogether?”

There was quiet.

“We know about the V Pocket stuff,” Cinder said, sighing. “Sorry. I just… can’t stand sitting on the side. Especially when things are getting so- you don’t have to worry about it.”

“I don’t have time to sit here and not worry, though. Where’s everyone else?” he said, standing up again.

“Lute—”

“Mum, I’m fine. This is serious, though! What happened, why am I at home?” he said. Her face churned, and he growled. “Mum!”

“I know. I know, Lute. I can’t stop you. I think it’s better you see things for yourself,” she said, trying not to look at him. She led the way out after that, prompting Esther and Infia to wait ahead. He rose an eyebrow, but Cinder and Raiju didn’t offer anything besides concerned looks, either.

He could see it right as he exited the house, though. On a distant island, more than likely the central continent of Pokétopia, there was a sinister swirl of dark colours. Most of the clouds in the sky were gone besides that one area, where they had swirled around the planet that he had seen when the Ancient Flowers activated.

It looked like plant roots were coming from the planet and gripping the ground, tethering Aseria and the dark planet together. Light blue fog surrounded the whole formation in a flat, rigid shape, like a cocoon of crystal was growing around it all. A complete contrast to the sunny skies of the surrounding world.

“What is that?” he whispered, his eyes wavering in disbelief.

“It happened soon after the clouds parted. When the light from the Shaymin filled the sky, that planet appeared above Pokétopia. Soon afterwards, all that crystal started raining from the sky, which soon grew into that cage,” Marina said. “We were able to determine that the planet is heading towards Aseria. With its mass and size, if it gets any closer, it’ll affect our climate. Or worse, collide with Aseria and destroy it completely.”

“Didn’t you say it was like some kinda alien invasion, too?” Raiju said.

“Aliens?” Lute gasped.

“Not nearly. Just unusual, extra-terrestrial Pokémon started showing up immediately afterwards. Species rarely seen, like Starmie or Clefable. They appeared to be cultivating the crystals that were coming from the planet, rooting it down,” Marina said, turning her back to the view. “That was all we really got to see during our evacuation. One team went to Reis Island, where they found your group. Everyone except Sophitia.”

“_Except_ Sophitia?” Lute cried this time. His heart felt like it was going to drop out of him. To make matters worse, everyone went totally silent at that point. “Wait, what happened to Sophitia? Someone say something!”

“They didn’t find her. You really have to wonder why?” Kuri said, bring attention to himself. Phoenix was beside him.

“No, I don’t know. All I know is—” he said, having another memory flash in his mind. Her giant shield. The only reason they survived the Moonblast. And the things Naivie was saying to her.

“Her and Naivie were in on it, dude. This whole mess,” Kuri said.

“In on what?”

“Beating us aside, what else? Naivie wanted those temples so that she could power up into whatever the hell that thing we fought was. And now she’s obviously off to her ‘master’, who looks like they’re gonna destroy the whole of Aseria.”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about. Sophitia wouldn’t betray us, she’s got no reason to!” Lute shouted.

“You don’t _know_ her reason to. You don’t even know anything about her, none of us do!” he said. “I should’ve seen this coming, but I was too damn focused on Angard and the missing weather.”

“She’s our friend, isn’t she?” Lute said in worry.

“You said you were helping her get her memory back, right?” Kuri said. Lute opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t. “But you never did, did you? And every time you brought it up, she changed the subject. Said it was fine, something she didn’t care about. But obviously, it was.”

“You’re just jumping to conclusions. For all we know, the worst could’ve happened. Naivie could’ve taken her. Maybe she did something that saved us, but drew Naivie away. What if the rescue team just didn’t find her body?” Lute cried.

“Have you been dreaming this whole journey? Our lives haven’t nearly been as convenient,” Kuri said. “She played us, kid. Get over it.”

“No! I don’t believe it!” he cried, scrunching up his face.

_“Yeah, bored. I mean I get it, Aseria’s a happier place now. There’s no fighting, the Pokémon are all working together, everyone’s constantly got stuff to do. But I’m a fighter, y’know? All that stuff I did before when we were travelling, I literally live for it. I thought you did too, so I thought we were getting closer. Close enough to maybe… I dunno, do something special.”_

_“Ehee hee, oh Lute, I’m just teasing. I don’t mind, really. But we’re gonna check those islands out soon, right?”_

_“I just wanted to know if you wanted to. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Just, this is my idea of a day out with you.”_

“She wouldn’t have said and done all that stuff. I just can’t see it,” he said, facing the floor.

“Stop it already!” Infia said, coming between them. “Kuri, you’re just being really mean.”

“You?” he said.

“I have to agree. There’s no point in provoking each other right now. What we really need to be doing is deciding what to do next,” Phoenix said. Kuri spat and turned away, folding his arms. “I’ve been collecting reports from the agents and the rescue team that found us to get as much information as possible. Sadly, what Marina says is true. They searched the ruins of the temple up and down, and found not a single hint of Sophitia.”

“What we need to do is find her, right? She might know the most about what’s going on. If _any_ of her memories could come back,” Lute said.

“That would be convenient, but without any hints, that’s a wild Ducklett chase. Arceus help her if she’s gone to Pokétopia,” Phoenix said. There was quiet for a long moment.

“I think,” Esther said, pushing everyone aside to bring attention to herself. “I think we should go back to Obire.”

“Obire? The western continent? Why there?” Kuri said.

“Remember that old granny? Azu, I think her name was. She knew loads about the legend of Aseria and all that. If anybody knows about what that planet is or what Naivie turned into, it’ll be her,” she said. “I think if we find out exactly what’s going on in terms of the flowers, we can get to the bottom of all this. Clearly, there’s more to it then bringing V-Waves back to the world.”

“Why would they withhold information from us?” Kuri said.

You tell me. Genesis is connected to the old world, yet she doesn’t have a thing to say on this, does she?” Esther said, half lidded. Kuri gawked at her.

“You little son of a bitch,” he replied.

“Just doin’ my thing,” she said. “Lute, I know you’re worried about Sophitia, but if you really believe in her, then you know that she’ll show up sooner or later. She probably just remembered something and went to go and sort it out.”

“It’s worrying that she would go without telling any of us, though. I hope we find her soon,” Infia said. “How do we get to the island?”

Esther raised a fist and then realised. “Oh right. There’s no gondolas to it other than from Pokétopia. And no way we’re going near there, now”

“You can use the Deposit Box to warp. When Silver and that lot went to get you that time, they put one down near the gondola station. Unless the villagers really hate the boxes, it should still be there,” Marina said. “Better question is, are you in the condition to go?”

“We don’t have a choice. That planet isn’t going to wait for us,” Lute said, nodding to his friends.

“Wait, really? That’s it?” Raiju said. Lute hesitated with an awkward smile. “Aw geez, you really have grown up super lots. Now I feel like a super spoilt kid. There really no way you can convince us to come with ya?”

“Oh right. Lute, you didn’t tell me ya had school buddies you left behind. You gonna tell us about it or what?” Esther said.

“Now really isn’t the time for that,” he sighed, palming his face.

“You _will_ introduce us properly though, won’t you?” she said, half-lidded.

“Yeah Lute, you’ve got lots of introducin’ to do. You as well, Infia. It’s you gonna be giving us story time lots and it’s gonna be really cool and interestin’, ain’t ya?” Raiju said.

“Admitting that he’s grown up, but still talking over him. Better request is, when are you going to grow up?” Cinder said with a sigh. “I want to come with you. But if you’d feel more confident without, then I won’t argue. Just…”

Lute made a sound, nervous when Cinder approached him. He only got a friendly punch and a smile. “You guys better all come back, and when you do, you better have good news to tell us. None of that finding you out cold in the middle of nowhere scare.”

“Yeah yeah! And actually have some presents from all the places, too. Can’t believe you guys have been all over Aseria and gotten _nothing_. Like, no fancy food or toys or even a funny little way to talk. You’re not living, Lute. You’re turnin’ into a zombie!” Raiju cried.

“Tsk, it’s not been a holiday, you know. Don’t be annoying about this,” Kuri said.

“You know what? Fine, I will. But you guys have to keep a promise to me, too,” Lute said, surprising everyone. “Promise me that if something happens here, you guys will take charge and help to protect everyone in Everend. And listen to Marina or any agents, okay?”

Raiju and Cinder exchanged glances, and nodded.

“Erm, I’m coming with you, you know,” Marina said. There was a pause.

“Wait, what?” Lute shouted.

“We left behind all our computers and data and things in Pokétopia. If I have any hope of getting access to it, I’ll stick with you guys. But regardless, there’s basically nothing I could accomplish if I stayed here,” she said.

“It makes sense. Your knowledge may be compatible with Azu’s,” Phoenix said.

“Sophie said your cooking’s real good, so no objections here!” Esther said, raising a fist.

“Wait but… ah, it’s just,” Lute said, swaying his head. She started giggling.

“Really, Lute? Even after everything, you’re still nervous about going somewhere with Mum?” she said. “I won’t embarrass you unless you do something you’re not supposed to do.”

“Hrrg. Let’s just go already,” he said.

…

He was surprised to emerge from a deposit box he had never used before, as well as that the area hadn’t changed much. The beach on the western continent was as quiet and colourful as ever, helped greatly by the natural sunlight brightening the place. He landed on the white sand with a curious stance, having to shield his eyes from the light and wind.

It was quiet here, quiet and soothing. Something about this natural beach entranced him last time, and now that he was back here, he felt no different about it. The water from the sea was washing over the sand before slinking right back into the sea, its loud waves giving his fur a relaxed chill. It was serene.

None of it would distract from the situation at Pokétopia, though. That giant crystal cocoon was in full view even from here, and being at a different angle, it looked all the more like a four-sided diamond. It was an ugly downer in area he wanted to feel relaxed in.

“You’re going to have to lead the way, I’m afraid. I can’t remember the last time I was here,” Marina said.

“What, you couldn’t figure it out on your own?” Kuri said.

“It’s more like, I imagine we scientist types aren’t really that welcome here,” she said, following Esther. Lute had to catch up with them, walking beside her and Infia.

Getting to the village was the same as before, at least. The forest remained a mystery dungeon, so none of the trees or paths felt the same besides their familiar typing and the flying Pokémon that confronted them. The group took it in turns to throw attacks and keep the feral Pokémon at bay, keeping a compass out to ensure they kept in a straight direction. They did it all in silence, too – no one even instructed this strategy, it was just something they instinctively followed.

It gave Lute a chance to think, though. To think and realise just how different this little mission was without Sophitia. Whenever a fight or a predicament started, he always knew what to do because she always knew what to do. If she turned out to be wrong, someone was right behind her with a better solution. And now, thanks to her leadership, they were able to get along wordlessly like this. She did more for him than he ever realised.

He sped up a bit as he neared the village, having to squirm his way through a few bushes and things to get there. Very few Pokémon were out, and they looked like they were only gathering a few bits and pieces to call it a day. The instant he came into sight though, all eyes were on him and his friends.

He gulped, becoming hot. To him, it was best to stay focused. Everyone watched him like he was doing something wrong, so he chose to try and ignore them and headed straight for Azu’s house. Even so, he couldn’t help but stop to look over at all those wary villagers and his friends. He got a series of concerned and disgusted looks, but a silly range from his friends.

“You know those villagers are afraid of outsiders. Especially considering we basically ditched them when Spirle and the Agents came here, it’s only natural they have it out for us,” Kuri said, arms folded and eyes closed.

“Oh yeah. Right,” Lute mumbled, hanging his head at the thought. He promised himself he would make it up to these Pokémon later, and knocked on the door. Minutes passed before thumps could be heard on the other side.

“Oh, well look who it is. I knew you would show up before long. Come in, please come in,” the aged Azumarill said, rushing back into the home. She looked like she was shifting around her furniture. “I wish you weren’t so quick. I barely got to clean up after my last guest.”

“It’s fine. With everything going on, we likely won’t be staying long. Apologies for the inconvenience, either way,” Marina said, bowing.

“Oh nonsense, nonsense. That big storm might be there, but it’s not like it’s flipping houses upside-down or anything. Anyone over here panicking about it is as silly as a potato,” she said, wiping her forehead. She settled down at the table anyway, still using her staff to balance. “So then. I ask what brings you here, but I assume it involves the storm?”

“Partially. We actually wanted to see if you know more about Aseria’s legends and history. Anything you haven’t told us yet that could help us out,” Lute said. “We know you’ve told us a lot already.”

“But you need an update on everything going on to figure out what to do next. I assume that’s why the scientist is here, too,” Azu said, tapping her staff. Everyone began to settle down.

“I hope I’m not being a burden, here,” Marina said.

“No. Not at all. I just hope you’re prepared to listen to an old bunny ramble a story,” she said. “I would like to ask you something before I begin, too. Just for confirmation.”

“Go on. What is it?” Lute said.

“Naivie isn’t with you anymore, is she?”

There was a pause, and Lute’s face tightened. “No. She turned into a monster when the weather returned, and then attacked us. That’s when the planet showed up, too.”

“Oh! Hasty as she is. Did she mention a thing called Balunercc?”

“Sounds like you know a lot more than you originally let on. You knew who Gen was back then, too,” Kuri said, becoming concerned.

“There’s no need to get worked up over little old me now, is there? Come now, don’t look so scary, I can’t bite you,” Azu said. She laid her staff on her lap. “I just didn’t think the Ancients would take this opportunity. It seems so desperate, even for them.”

“The Ancients? Are we talking about the same ones that lived in Angard or something?” Esther said.

“The Ancients are simply what we call Pokémon that lived before the meteors rained down and nearly destroyed Aseria. But you guys already proved that that was Lassic, or something like that,” Azu said. She sighed and stood up, beginning to pace around the table. “They lived all over Aseria, you know. Including the sixth continent.”

“There was a sixth continent?” Marina said, her face widening.

“Yes. And it disappeared long before any of this ever happened. Had a kingdom and everything, and it was ruled by Carbink,” she said, stopping. She began to roll up one of her rugs, eventually revealing a floor door. “I think it’s better if I just show you.”

“This is relevant, right? We really need to find Sophitia and what we can do about the planet plummeting toward us,” Lute said. Azu went half lidded.

“Oh but of course. She was only here earlier,” she said, widening everyone’s eyes. “She was just as impatient and restless, too. Barely in the condition to make a trip, but she insisted. And she seemed to know exactly what was here.”

“She really came here?” Lute gasped, warily following Azu down into her basement. The area was wider than it looked, but had to be lit by a glow from her staff. Sat a little ways ahead of them was a Teleportal, but it was caked in dust from lack of use. There were pawprints on it, however.

“Seemed to me like she had some kind of breakthrough and was a little too excited to wait. I was really hoping she’d stay for a snack. You would think someone her size would jump at the chance,” she said.

“She must’ve got her memories back,” Lute whispered.


	36. Put Him To Rest

The Teleportal dropped the group off on the edge of tall hill, but the edge was so sharp it resembled a cliff. From here, they had full view of the disturbing scenery of the world around them, and were amazed at it being nothing like they had ever seen or imagined.

That was at first glance, anyway. Lute could draw parallels between this place and Pokétopia in that skyscrapers and lively, square shaped streets defined the place. Complete with neon signs and warm, colourful lights that gleamed like stars in the nightlife, this place even had wind and a rhythm of waves splashing against the earth.

But the major difference was that this entire world was drowned beneath an ocean that seemed to have no end. All the lights from the buildings were glistening from beneath the surface of the water, as if the sun was setting behind it – but there was no sun, just the crumbling ceiling of the Earth above. A few skyscrapers poked above the water, and strangely, every last one of them was intact.

“What is this place? There’s nowhere but underwater,” Esther pointed out, spinning around. They were on a small island, and that was all that stood out of the water.

“This is the sixth continent. Cistern Citadel. A city once cultivated by Carbink, and their ruler, a mythical Pokémon called Diancie,” Azu said, walking ahead. She hopped down the cliff and stumbled, and then continued to the edge. “I believe it was something to do with a second royalty being born when they shouldn’t have been, causing a civil war of some sort. The continent expanded into two more lands: Moand Dia, and Balunercc.”

“So Balunercc’s an island?” Infia said, tilting her head. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Isn’t Moand Dia that world inside the planet? Normal Pokémon can’t go there.”

“Normal Pokémon can’t go there _now_. Those are practically two worlds now, and they’re protected by their respective mythical Pokémon. Moand Dia is protected by Diancie, and Balunercc, a royal called Artemis,” Azu said. “I honestly never considered it at first, but it seems that Naivie is Artemis’ champion. She’s trying to bring Artemis and Balunercc back to the world.”

“Oh, I get it. So something happened that turned Balunercc into a planet. Now that the weather is back to normal, Naivie’s trying to get to Balunercc because Artemis is there, right?” Esther said.

“Something like that. I couldn’t tell you the full details, to be honest. All I know is that this is what remains of the Carbink’s continent. Somewhere here is a way leading directly to Diancie, and that your Sylveon friend is way ahead of you in finding it,” Azu said. “You’ll want to find Diancie and talk to them yourself if you want to know how to stop Balunercc from crashing into Aseria.”

“Sophitia went here? How, the whole thing’s underwater!” Kuri said.

“Somehow I don’t see that being much of an issue for her,” Lute said, staring at it. He said that, but the idea of her diving deep into this underwater city made him nervous. She may have been excellent at swimming, but she was no Vaporeon, and he had certainly seen her drown before.

“Well it’s a good thing I came then, isn’t it? I had better get to work,” Marina said, stretching her legs. “I’ll find the Teleportal and head back here. Hopefully it’s in a place where I can lead you all to it.”

“I hate underwater travel,” Infia said, slumping forward.

“We could always go as Esthia,” Esther said.

“Thanks, but that’s not going to solve the clothes problem,” she groaned.

“Hahaha, you kids really are adventurous. I love it! You think you’ll last exploring a place like this? Where the portal is, the pressure would probably kill you,” Azu said. She inhaled deeply, puffing up her chest and belly to nearly twice her size, and then gradually exhaled to form a large bubble. She made several of them and each one was bigger than her. “Okay, get in.”

“Did Sophitia take one of these?” Lute said, blankly pressing his paw into the bubble. He slipped into it with a bit of effort, surprised at how sturdy it felt from inside.

“Nope, ran off the moment we landed from the Teleportal. The bubbles will shrink as they run out of air, so I’d get a move on if I were you. I might think twice about resupplying those,” she said, half lidded. Between awkward glances, shrugs, and sighs, the group collectively agreed and got in their own bubbles.

Walking felt like being inside a giant ball of sponge, but once he was below the surface, all the nervousness hit. Most of the pressures of underwater exploration took hold right away. The water was cold, moving became difficult, and all he could hear around him was the muffled bubbling of the water. Despite being in the bubble, he still had to paddle and swim, too. He was sweating and breathing carefully as he descended, half expecting the bubble to suddenly pop. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

“Spread out, but stay together. And check the windows,” Marina said, taking the lead. It was no surprise to see her speed through the water with a majestic slither. He held onto his fears and followed her closely, gazing at the world around him in search of anything suspicious.

This place clearly was not supposed to be underwater. The buildings had stairs with large steps, and many of the roads were lit up by glowing poles made of gemstones. They kept changing colour every now and then with a bleep and a bloop, like the traffic lights for the gondolas he knew.

Not a soul could be heard and seen besides him and his friends, yet these traffic systems functioned ceaselessly alongside the lights and machinery inside the buildings. None of it was in any sort of pattern, with random rooms being lit up and others not. The deeper down and closer he got to it all, the more her felt himself starting to sweat.

“This place was abandoned, but I cannot fathom why. A lot of it is in good condition,” Phoenix said. Lute was surprised to hear him so clearly. His voice echoed vividly.

“And check it out. Everything’s made of stone. Like, pure, hard, stone,” Esther said, admiring one of the streetlamps. “It’s stone, but it’s glowing like a jewel. I could take some of these, if they don’t mind.”

“Maybe next time, Esther,” Infia said, nosily admiring the same jewels.

“Maybe the island sunk? It’s not really that important, is it?” Kuri said.

“The island sunk and the Carbink abandoned it, separating into what we know as two different worlds, Moand Dia and Balunercc. Does that idea not concern you in the slightest?” Phoenix said.

The Chespin looked back him, casually using his legs to keep moving forward. “It does concern me. But we’re not gonna figure something like this out right now. We don’t know enough information.”

“This is unbelievable. It’s even more advanced than Pokétopia in some places,” Lute said quietly, stopping to look around more. All the facilities he expected to find were here. A shopping mall, a city hall, a children’s park, and more. Street signs directed to a gemstone mine, public habitats, and other general areas.

Even after what must have been about twenty minutes, his bubble didn’t look like it had shrunk an inch. With convenience like this, his thoughts shifted to Sophitia again, and how much she would have loved to explore a place like this. More specifically, he would have loved to explore this place with her. She probably wouldn’t mind him sharing a bubble with her, enabling him to take part in all those fancy moves she pulled on Reis Island while riding on her back. Well, that was if she could do them within the bubble.

“Please be okay,” he whispered, shaking himself back to focus.

“She’ll be okay. We believe in her, too,” Infia said, surprising him. She gestured holding his hand, and he smiled a little. “So chin up, Lute! We’ll find her.”

“I know. Thanks, Infia,” he said.

“You guys, I found it. The Teleportal is right here in the city hall,” Marina called out, coming up from there. “But it looks different to the Teleportals I’ve seen.”

“Different?” he said, raising an eyebrow. The group gathered together and followed her lead, confused that she swam in through a window rather than the front door. Esther lagged behind a bit, realising that the city hall, and all the other big buildings for that matter, had no main doors.

“Wait, is this really a city for Carbink? The stone and gemstone stuff matches up, but none of the buildings have doors,” she said as she caught up, nearly bumping into Infia’s bubble.

“It has to. That’s the same one,” Lute said, staring at the Teleportal. It was the same kind as the one below the Spirle Base. The fancier Teleportal in the crystal room with a curtain. Just like everything else, it was perfectly intact. “Kuri, we’re counting on you.”

“Me?” he groaned.

“Well yeah, you’re the only Ancient here, now. Deep breaths, everyone,” Lute said.

The Chespin grumbled a curse but went along with it, checking out the room for a moment. Once he signalled the okay, they all took deep breaths and broke their air bubbles. Lute was surprised by the hefty feeling of all the water around him, which almost paralysed him in place. He almost caved right in and breathed too, but with all his will, held back. Marina had to grab and pull him into the room with everyone else, while Kuri warped them away.

They were whisked away in a flash, but rendered in a stream of light for longer than a minute. No one said anything, so he didn’t say anything, either. He just faced the direction he felt himself moving in and focused, ready for anything. It was a long time to stay focused, being surrounded by light and still underwater like this. But he held strong, constantly thinking of Sophitia.

And then they landed, where he did his patented hop forward to scout around. The instant he did so, all the water they had warped with splashed around and swamped him out of place. It was surprising enough to distract him so he choked on it, left drenched and confused in a cold, dark cavern.

“Really?” he huffed, spitting out the awful, salty taste. He looked up to find the rainbow colours of a Hyper Beam attack speeding toward him, to which he screamed and threw himself to the side, falling roughly and awkwardly on his side. An enormous blast grazed him, filling the air around him in smoke and embers.

“Guys!” he called out, trying to brush it all aside. “_No wait, look where the attack came from!_”

He was right to do so as the instant he turned in that direction, his attacker was high in the air and heading straight towards him. It was at a blurry speed, so the best he could do was flinch and throw a paw forward to punch. He was tackled down by his four-legged attacker, and cried out as his back scraped across the hard ground. When his momentum stopped, he growled and blinked away tears to look up, trying to fidget out of the Pokémon’s grip.

“Evoli?” he gasped, recognising him right away. The enemy Eevee raised its head and brought up another Hyper Beam, throwing him into a panic. He couldn’t get out of Evoli’s grip, and started screaming.

“Get off of him!” Sophitia screamed, barging him over. Evoli looked as though he choked on the Hyper Beam, once again enveloping the area in a large explosion, this time mostly around himself.

It took Lute a moment to register what he had just seen and heard, to which he did a double take as he rolled to his feet. He stared in angst, desperate for the smoke to clear. As it did, his emotions bubbled up within his chest. All sorts of unknown feelings welled up and swirled a million unfamiliar thoughts in his mind, with only one thing in common: relief.

He was relieved to see her. She was battered and paid him no mind it seemed, concentrating on Evoli, who was slowly standing back up from his damage. But there she was, in the flesh. Looking at her now had him shuddering in affection and adoration, but that was cut off by Evoli letting out a war screech.

“You can keep fighting all you want, I’m not giving up. I’ve come too far to stop here,” Sophitia said, raising a feeler briefly. Her shield appeared on the end of it, which she held forward.

“Glad to hear it, but you can kick back for a bit,” Kuri said, sliding in front of her with Esther and Infia. “Wouldn’t do to have you faint on us now, would it?”

“What’s this guy doing here, anyway? If the going gets rough, let’s Esthia,” Esther said. Infia nodded.

“Oh, right,” Lute gasped, shaking himself off. He slid between his friends, now with a cocky smile on his face.

“You guys,” Sophitia whispered, relaxing a bit. “B-be careful. This is Evoli we’re dealing with here!”

“You don’t need to tell us,” Lute said, half looking back at her. “We beat Lassic for a reason. We can handle this, now.”

Evoli screeched at them again, making everyone face forward. He began to charge Hyper Beam once more, and everyone responded with the preparation to dodge. They glared each other down, their bodies becoming tenser and tenser as seconds went by.

But to their surprise, there was hesitation. Lute knew better than to let his guard down here, but the hesitation to fire the attack did worry him. That was until Marina’s blue figure stepped beside him, wary and jaw-dropped.

“Mum! Be care—” he began to say, only to become just as shocked. Evoli let up on his attack, his beam fizzling out into thin air.

Complete silence fell. The Eevee may not have had any details in his eyes other than veins, but nobody needed to see those details to tell that he was staring at her and nothing else. Marina was the same, completely fixated on him and shuddering nonstop.

She eventually took a single step forward, and he didn’t move. She blinked once, twice, a third, and he was still there in the same spot. She held both her forepaws forward, and he slowly did the same. He had stopped gawking, but she was on the verge of tears, uttering the faintest of sounds of disbelief.

“Is it really you?” she whispered. Evoli didn’t reply, nor did he move as she came closer. “Please. Anything. Just a sign. Is it really you?”

Kuri shifted ahead in expectation of a sly move, but he didn’t need to. Marina kept her wary approach until she could wrap her paws around Evoli. He took a few seconds to do the same, and once they were hugging, his ears and fur fell down, relaxed and unthreatening.

“I… I can’t believe it. The guy really has a chill mode,” Esther whispered. Infia hushed her.

“I don’t know why you’re here. When everyone said it was you, I didn’t know what to believe. But now that I’m here, I know for sure,” Marina said, her voice softer than ever. She sniffled and let tears fall from her eyes, nuzzling herself into her partner. He accepted that affection without a sound, doing the same. “It’s over now, Evoli. You don’t have to suffer anymore.”

There was another round of silence, and the two stepped back and forth, side to side a little, never leaving one another’s embrace. It was as if they were dancing, the kind of dance a royal couple would do on the ballroom floor on the night of their marriage. Even with Evoli’s empty eyes, it felt just as romantic to watch here as it would have in a place like that.

“Lassic is gone. Silver is gone. They’re both resting in peace. The weather is back, and Pokémon aren’t relying on V-Wave technology anymore,” Marina whispered with a sniffle. “So it’s over now. You can rest. You don’t have to fight anymore. And that’s Lute, you know? Our son. He’s grown up strong, don’t you think?”

Evoli slowly slipped out of her grip and sat down. He had to look up at her, but his eyes were squinting as if he was holding back tears. A moment later, bright particles of light appeared on his body, spreading all over. He was beginning to vanish, but as he did so, the faintest of smiles appeared. Marina wiped her eyes, smiling the same way.

“I’m so happy, and so blessed to be able to see you one last time,” she said.

Evoli bowed a nod, and then shut his eyes. His body faded into light which disappeared into nothing, but as it did, he had the most peaceful serenity to him the group had ever seen. He kept those peaceful eyes and light smile right up until he was gone completely, leaving nothing behind. Not a fur, not a sound, not a touch, even moments afterwards.

“I didn’t believe it was really him, you know,” Marina said, not looking back at everyone. “I don’t understand it, either. Why he was here and why he was fighting you. Maybe he knew I was suffering and didn’t want to go.”

“He was your husband, right? It’s not the first time I’ve seen or heard of something like that,” Kuri said. “Vengeful or suffering spirits that refuse to lay to rest, becoming mutated ghost Pokémon who won’t leave the world until they find their one last solace. If you hadn’t come here, he might’ve been that overpowered monster for the rest of time.”

“It’s exactly that. He was getting taken advantage of by Artemis,” Sophitia said, drawing all eyes to her. “When he died, Artemis gave him the chance to stay alive as a physical spirit under the condition that he would guard the way to the Diamond Domain. Thus, he attacked everyone who came down to Moand Dia. His whole purpose was to stop Pokémon from ever reaching Diancie.”

“Oh wow. You really did get your memory back,” Kuri said, putting a hand on his hip.

“Sophitia!” Infia and Esther cheered, bouncing over to her.

“W-whoa, um, hi there,” she gasped, leaning away from them as they cuddled up to her. Even Phoenix huddled close and bumped her with a paw and a smile.

“You’ve got some real explaining to do, little miss. The kids _really_ missed ya,” Kuri said. “Wish they’d wait until Marina’s had her time, though.”

“Are you kidding? I’m so through with crying, I’ve cried all there is to cry. You, you’re like a daughter to me. So my first question is: where have you been, young lady?” Marina raised her voice, jumping over. “Do you have any idea how worried sick I’ve been?”

“Urk I- guys, c’mon, this is just,” Sophitia mumbled, smiling awkwardly. She was blushing and scratching the back of her head with a feeler. “Geez, I’ve never felt so important. And I was the leader on the damn team.”

One look up brought her attention to Lute, who was still stood halfway across the room. He was shaking a bit and muttering constantly. He almost looked worried about something, which confused her. The others took note of her quiet and stepped away from her, letting her stand up and address him properly.

He didn’t know what to say, though. For the first time in his life, he was stuck at a loss when it came to her. He knew what he wanted and what to say when he was on his way here, and yet now that he was here, all those feelings of relief he had from before were going absolutely wild inside of him. At some point they exploded within him, coming forth as an enigma of actions he didn’t seem to have any control over. He sniffled, failed to blink away a tear, and trembled, yet he also laughed lightly, smiled, and his eyes glazed over with happiness.

“I’m sorry, I just—” he said, finally taking a step forward.

“Lute?” Sophitia said, still confused. His steps turned into a full force sprint, giving her just a moment of surprise before she was tackled down. He dove right through her, sending the duo rolling all the way to the other side of the room, leaving the others gawking. “Whoa, easy there, Litleo! I’m not in the best shape, I admit.”

She felt uncomfortable from the suddenness of it, but realised that he was actually crying into her chest. He was hugging her tightly, but not with the evasive and awkward feelings he had shown her when she usually got affectionate with him. His grip with desperate and delicate at the same time, as if he was no longer ashamed to show his feelings to her. His head was just below hers, nuzzling into her bow a little bit, where she could detect every last hint of emotion behind his tears and sniffles.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m so sorry I ignored you for so long,” he rambled. He kept saying similar apologies even after she wrapped her paws around him, cradling his body even closer to hers. It wasn’t until she gave him a teensy lick on his cheek that he froze up and leaned back, locking eyes with her. She had the sweetest smile on her face, and her own magenta eyes were glazed over, too.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I just- I dunno, I couldn’t—”

“Just stop already,” she replied softly, giggling a little.

“Sophitia,” he whispered. Right here and now, her few words relaxed and focused his feelings. He adored cradling her like this, and having those feelings reciprocated. Right now, nothing else mattered other than proving to her how much she meant to him, and the idea that those feelings were mutual to her was clear as day. His paws slowly rubbed to her sides as she did the same, and a heavy shyness filled his chest.

He wasn’t going to let that shyness stop him, though. For some reason, he felt like everything he wanted to do now was right, and so he leaned in, sliding one paw behind her head to guide her face to his. She allowed him to, shutting her eyes as her smile pursed instinctively. But an instant before their lips connected, a painful pinch on his back and his tail brought him to the outside world as he was yanked from his position. She was surprised by the sudden detachment as well, enough so that she let him leave her grip without contest.

He blinked several times in a complete daze, left hanging by his tail and naturally rotating. Once he met eyes with Marina, he flinched at the exceptionally loud clearing of her throat, and his face went bright red. “M-Mum?”

“I warned you, mister. I said I would only embarrass you if you did something you weren’t supposed to do,” Marina said. “And what’s up with the rest of you? Let go of me!”

The Vaporeon was stood tall on her hind legs, but Esther, Infia, and Phoenix were all trying hopelessly to pull her back by her tail. The trio let go and hopped away, pretending they weren’t paying attention. Once Sophitia saw them, she flipped back to her feet, clearing her own throat. She couldn’t stop blushing.

“You’re mistaken, it was just a little affection. Nothing more, nothing less,” She cried.

“Y-yeah, m-me and Sophitia definitely weren’t going to kiss or anything!” Lute cried, shaking himself. “I’d never do anything like that, and we definitely don’t have anything going on. Love is gross!”

Every word brought Sophitia to growl, so she raised a feeler and slapped his face so hard he dropped out of Marina’s grip. “You stupid kid. How many times do I have to tell you to watch your words?”

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice about getting a room,” Marina said, brushing off her paws. “We have far more important things to be dealing with right now, young Eevee. As long as you’re in my presence and in my household, you are _not_ doing anything close.”

“We-we’re not a-at home though,” he said, twitching on the floor beside her. Without even looking at him, she rose a paw, and that made him shriek. “Okay okay, yes Mum!”

“Aww, really?” Sophitia said, turning her back to everyone. She palmed her face with a sigh.

…

“I didn’t fully regain my memory, but some things came back to me when we fought Naivie like that,” Sophitia said, directing the group through the cave. Wherever they were now, the area was vast and quiet, decorated by various gemstones jutting from the walls and floor. Each one was tiny and a different colour, shape, and size, as if they were growing plants.

The same pressuring humidity as Cistern City was present, though. Lute was sweating hard and breathing a little roughly, as if breathing through his mouth wasn’t giving him the oxygen it should have. But the hard floor didn’t feel like he was walking underwater or in a volcano or anything. The way this place was laid out, it felt more like he was walking in the open fields between towns. Instead of vast green fields and clear skies, there were massive rooms of gradually sloping earth and bumping arches of ceilings miles above him.

“This place is called the Diamond Domain. I’m sure Diancie lives here, and she’s the one who raised me. Who gave me those memories you guys all saw when we awakened the Ancient Flowers,” Sophitia said, looking up. “I knew that if I came here, I could learn everything. But that’s when I remembered stuff about Artemis, too. About how I knew he had Evoli under his control, or that Naivie’s attack could be blocked.”

“So Naivie wasn’t really lying about all that stuff she was talking about, was she?” Kuri said.

“I dunno who I used to be, but I don’t care about that. I’m who I am now, and who I am now is you guys friends. That Naivie has nothing to do with me,” she said, slowing down a bit. She looked side to side at all the park apparatus around them. “It was right here. I’m sure of it. I grew up right here.”

“That’s so strange to look at. It’s just like a children’s park, but everything’s made of stone,” Infia said, while Phoenix gave the seesaw a tap. It functioned, surprisingly. There was a spring horse, slide, seesaws, roundabout, and even a climbing frame. The latter stood out the most due to being made entirely of clear pink gemstones.

“Doesn’t look very comfortable to use. And there’s nothing here for quadruped Pokémon,” Marina said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of unusual things since we came here. How is any of this suitable for Carbink?”

“That’s what I was saying! The buildings back in the city had no doors, only windows. With no glass!” Esther cried.

“You!” a girly voice squeaked, making the group jump. A Floette and a Flabébé had come out of hiding, and the Flabébé was flailing her flower in anger. “I was wondering what all that racket was earlier. Can’t you stupid kids take your battles outside? Why do you have to have ‘em on historical grounds? Can’t any of you have respect for stuff that doesn’t belong to you for one minute?”

“Whoa hey, pardon you. Who hurt you?” Kuri said.

“Easy, Florrie. These Pokémon managed to make it here, even as they were beset by the demon Eevee,” the Floette said, floating between them.

“Demon Eevee?” Lute said, raising an eyebrow. “You mean Evoli, right?”

“Whatever. You’re here now, and you nearly made a mess of things. Get outta here if you’re looking for treasure or whatever. You’re not gonna find it here!” Flabébé shouted.

“Oh great, you’re the fiery one,” Kuri groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Why do I feel like,” Sophitia muttered, staring at them.

“You must forgive my sister. She is understandably protective of this area as it is truly important to us. But if you are Pokémon that have gotten here, then you must be here for a good reason,” Floette said. Sophitia started crying out continuously, pointing at the duo.

“It’s you two! The guardian fairies from that relic!” she shouted.

“Guardian fairies?” Lute said.

“You know them! We saved them from the Risen,” she said, bouncing. Lute had a lightbulb moment then, and looked up to recall it.

_“Geez sis, you’re a fool’s fool, you know that? Or fate’s fool, anyway,” Florrie said._

_“We fairies are important to Planet Aseria. We only awaken when the planet is in danger, where it is our duty to pass on knowledge and guidance to heroes that can resolve the planet’s crisis,” Floette said, floating toward some markings on the old wall. It looked like groups of Pokémon worshipping the sun, though that sun was very rigid and octagonal. “Look closely. The Pokémon of Aseria worship the Shaymin, and through their blessings, the Shaymin control the weather around the planet.”_

_“The weather? The Shaymin must’ve been some really cool and powerful Pokémon,” Lute said, his eyes gleaming._

“You were the ones who told us about the heroes and the legend of Aseria. You recognised Sophitia and told us all about everything that was going on long before we ended up setting off,” Lute said. “Florrie and Floette. What’re you two doing here?”

“When did this happen? And why didn’t you ever tell me about it?” Marina said.

“It ended up not really being that important. But I guess, you girls are here now, so it has to be important,” he said, turning to them.

“And you are all here as well. It can’t not be fate. By any chance, did you ever remember who you were?” Floette said.

“Seriously? You dolts are one’s we’ve gotta- oh alright, whatever. I guess the gods will choose anyone when they’re strapped for heroes,” Florrie said, looking away.

“Is she always like this?” Kuri mumbled to Lute.

“Er kinda. I’m sure she doesn’t mean it,” he replied.

“Actually, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter at this point. I’m sure you’re here to find a way to stop Balunercc, right? Everything will become clear if we wake Diancie up. And I’m certain that she will recognise you,” Floette said, turning to the climbing frame. “With me please, Florrie. And make it quick.”

“Yeah yeah, keep your petals on,” The Flabébé said. The two fairies positioned themselves on either side of the web of gemstones, raising their tiny arms and glowing. Now that he was staring at it, Lute realised that there was in fact a Pokémon inside of the gemstones, totally frozen in place.

He didn’t have to wait long to meet them though, as all it took was a magical gleam from the duo for the climbing frame to react with its own warm glow. It looked like the light burnt away the gemstones in a smooth fade away that left embers in the air. Half a minute later and everything within was set free, and a shining Pokémon slowly descended to the ground.

The Pokémon was quite tall and was clearly royalty. Her body was smooth, coloured a stony grey, and was clothed in a thin white dress that went down below her waist. She wore a huge pink diamond on her head, with a headdress of smaller diamonds behind it. Her lower half resembled a Carbink’s lower half, with its generally pyramid shape but rocky appearance. Pink gemstones were poking out of it in places.

She came out of her prayer pose as she landed, letting out a light breath of surprise. She balanced without anyone’s help, and slowly revealed her shining purple eyes. “Oh. I’m so glad you all made it here.”

The group didn’t respond, overwhelmed by her presence. Her voice was serene, her body was clean and glowing, and in general, her form was attractive. She lowered her tiny mitten-like hands, pressing one to the gemstone on her chest and smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Diancie, the queen and founder of all of Aseria.”

“The queen and founder?” Marina said.

“From my sealing of trapped crystal, I was able to see much of the world through the eyes of my champions, Floette and Florrie. Likewise, my connection to the planet enabled me to sense any and all changes. I am very aware of much that is going on, and all you have been through, heroes,” she said, putting her hands together. “Will you please listen to my story? This will lead to my last request to you as heroes.”

“That’s what we came here for. You know about my past, right? And how we can stop that planet from crashing into Aseria,” Sophitia said.

Diancie nodded slowly. “Please listen well to the story of Aseria.”

…

Aseria was originally a barren rock inhabited only by feral species who survived purely on instinct and nothing else. Its most dominant species, flying fairies known as the Carbink, spent their time constructing the rock into a civilization. Eventually, there came to be born a special Carbink, a taller, more beautiful, majestic fairy christened as Diancie.

I am the very same Diancie as the one I speak of. Back then, I was worshipped as a legendary queen, blessed with great power and intelligence. I shared my power with the world, and thanks to my rule, Aseria advanced into a flourishing world rife with species and life. I created a stone that was to be Aseria’s core, the Mega Stone. The Mega Stone was the source of Aseria’s power and nature, which would be expelled through gigantic flowers on the world’s five continents. Civilization grew, and Aseria became a paradise.

But any form of peace was not to last. As our planet grew and its species became more intelligent, other kingdoms sprouted out and declared their independence. Pokémon became separated by their species, values, and more. We of the Carbink were forced below the surface by their advancing civilizations, avoiding all conflict by hiding ourselves inside the planet. The citadel you travelled through to reach here.

But as desperate as the world’s leaders were for dominance of Aseria and the limitless energy of the Mega Stone, one feeling was unanimous: that the flowers be respected, and the Mega Stone left unharmed. Thus, no war ever involved the harming of the flowers. It was a known culture to respect the flowers and the energy they gave.

As the Carbink adjusted to a new life in hiding beneath the plates of earth, we lost much of our power and wonderful glow. Our bodies, which were once adorned with fluff, feathers, and gemstones more beautiful than diamond, had regressed into armless, heavy suits of rock. Our eyes attuned to the dark and our powers leaned towards defence. As I ordered my Pokémon never to engage in conflict, we became weaker and weaker, until one day a new mutation of our species was born: Artemis.

Artemis was a new me, a new ruler of the Carbink. He matched me in power, intelligence, majesty. But as he was born into our time of darkness, the time where we Carbink were being threatened to the point of complete extinction, his views were different. He lamented the Pokémon who had split the continents, who worshipped and used the flowers and the Mega Stone. All he cared about was reclaiming the world above and returning the Carbink to their original glory.

And thus, we Carbink entered our own civil war. I refused to strike against the Pokémon of the world above, but there were Carbink who believed in him, who could not take our suffering in the darkness. They sided with Artemis and split our country into two, Moand Dia and Balunercc. Our battles created the cistern you see today.

I foresaw the complete destruction of the Carbink and the world as we knew it. And thus began a plan of unheard of actions. I enlisted the help of one being who could stand up to me and Artemis, someone with an unwavering passion for survival, life, and prosperity, someone who would set aside everything and challenge a god. My prayers presented me with an infant girl, a human baby christened as Sophitia.

Artemis was astonished that a human could exist here in our world of Aseria. But it was his realisation of how grave his actions were. And so, we gifted Sophitia our powers, and raised her together. My stout resilience manifested as a shield that could guard against the world’s mightiest powers. Meanwhile Artemis’ passionate resolve for glory manifested as a sword that could slay the world’s most dangerous monsters. And with an aura of both our blessings, Sophitia could take an army of her own to anywhere in the world, even our sacred realms protected by our influence.

To put an end to the Carbink’s battles, I sealed myself into the planet and locked the powers of the Mega Stone. Moand Dia would remain sealed to all but those at Sophitia’s side. Artemis took his Carbink into outer space along with his continent of Balunercc, where he planned to cultivate an unstoppable army.

This was our final decree to settle our generations long battle. When the world of Aseria was in need of our power once more, the two of us would awaken, our ideals clashing one final time. The human would be the decider of Aseria’s fate.

…

“No way… I-I mean it makes perfect sense when I think about it, but it’s still surprising. I’m a human?” Sophitia said, looking down at her feelers.

“A human turning into a Pokémon to stop a war from times of history,” Lute said, his eyes gleaming brightly. “I always knew you were an amazing Pokémon but this is way cooler than I imagined. Sophitia, you’re phenomenal!”

She looked at him in surprise and suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh gods, Marina, you totally made us dodge a bullet back there then huh? That could’ve gotten real awkward if we’d gone through with it!”

“Huh? But… it did get awkward. Because of everyone there,” he said, going quiet.

“I mean ‘cos I’m human you silly fox. A human and a Pokémon can’t get together. That’s just, wrong,” she said, shrugging her feelers. He seemed totally confused by the idea. “Never mind. We’re not having this conversation now.”

“Let me get this straight. Sophie’s a human who has some of yours and Artemis’ powers and is strong enough to defeat both of you. You guys made her this way so that she could save the world when you sealed off the Mega Stone and cut off the seasons?” Esther said.

“I’m really impressed you actually got all that,” Infia said.

“Hey I’m really into legends and stuff too y’know. Remember, it was me that dragged you lot off on this in the first place,” she said, raising a fist. “Now I know I’ve got a real knack for it. I picked like, the world’s greatest legendary on a whim! A frickin’ human!”

“Artemis took you with him when he left Aseria, Sophitia. He made you his champion, and manipulated you into believing that no Pokémon could pay respect to the flowers. When Aseria finally began to lose its nature, you came to the planet to stop anyone from paying respects to the flowers. He wanted to let the planet die thanks to me. I had no choice but to intervene soon after you landed, and wiped your memories,” Diancie said, raising her hands in angst. “But Artemis wouldn’t stand for it. He took advantage of a lost spirit, the one you call Evoli, and used them to guard the way to my domain. He used these underhanded methods to shift our battle into his favour, hoping that we could never meet and that you could never learn the truth!”

“But now, she does know the truth. So we’re going to go to Balunercc and confront him to settle this for good,” Phoenix said. “Your aura truly enabled us to go anywhere in the world. To the core, to the deepest reaches of the ocean, and even here. I’m sure outer space will be no problem.”

“It won’t be the wildest battle we’ve ever had to do. Having to go to the core to fight Lassic still kinda blows my mind,” Kuri said. “So, how do we get to Balunercc?”

“You guys are surprisingly okay with this. This won’t even be like fighting Lassic, you know. We’re talking about somebody with the power to both destroy and create an entire world,” Sophitia said.

“Well of course we’re okay with it. We’ve been through way too much together to stop here,” Lute said, smiling cheerily. “And this is the goalpost. We finish this, we all live in peace forever. But I’m sure we can help Artemis, too.”

“Hold on. Help him?” Kuri said.

“Yes. He grew up doing nothing but hating the world he saw at war, and seeing his Pokémon suffer. But the world isn’t like that anymore, it hasn’t been like that for a long time. I’m sure if he saw it for himself, he might feel differently,” he said, addressing everyone. “And I’m sure that everyone here would be okay if the Carbink came back to live on the surface. The time of kings, queens, and conquest is long over. Now we’re all just trying to rebuild Aseria into a place where we can all live. The Carbink can be part of that.”

“You are one seriously dumb sack of innocence,” Kuri groaned, rolling his eyes.

“And you are one big sack of dickweeds,” Esther said.

“Don’t be mean if you agree with him, Kuri,” Phoenix said.

“Artemis is trying to crash his own planet into Aseria. If you really believe you can convince a guy like that not to do that by talking to him with your little heart to heart stuff, then be my guest,” Kuri said, folding his arms. “But this poses more of a threat than Lassic did. I won’t hesitate to kill him when I feel it’s best to.”

“You know what? That’s fair. I won’t try to stop you, either,” Lute said, straight faced.

“And Diancie! You should know better than anyone in the world how dangerous it is to keep secrets. You’ve still got stuff to tell us, so spill it before it’s too late,” he said. The legendary tilted her head, a light smile on her face.

“How dare you talk to Diancie that way! You’re speaking to royalty, you know,” Florrie shouted.

“I know. And there’s nothing I hate more than leaders who keep secrets from their subjects for their own gain,” he said, closing his hands into fists. The others were confused too, until Diancie’s smile slowly faded.

“What are you insinuating? You mortals are the ones who betray each other for personal gain. Diancie would never do that!” Florrie shouted even louder.

“Diancie?” Floette said, bringing everyone’s attention to her troubled pose. Diancie was playing with her hands, and sighed a deep sigh.

“I had hoped to hide it not for my own gain, but for the sake of all of you,” she said. “The power Sophitia must use to defeat Artemis would expel her Pokémon form. With her role finished, our blessing that is keeping her here would expire, and she would return to her own world.”

“Thought so,” Kuri said, kicking the floor.

“Wait, you mean—” Lute said. Diancie nodded.

“Sophitia will disappear from you forever after you defeat Artemis,” she said.

“Oh,” Lute said quietly. Everyone else was dead silent and unmoving. The Sylveon wasn’t even looking at them.

“That’s why you came here on your own. And that’s what Naivie meant about you hesitating, too,” Kuri said, keeping his back to everyone. “You always had the power to stab Project Dragonlord and Lassic, and probably Naivie, too. But you were afraid that if you did, you might throw your form away. Don’t you think that makes sense?”

“Kuri, this is the first time I’m gonna tell you the shut up,” Sophitia said, her tone stale and quiet.

“Won’t be the last, I’m sure,” he said, doing just that. There was another lengthy silence.

“B-b-but that’s fine, right? That just means the rest of us will just have to try extra hard to convince Artemis. And if we have to beat him, we’ll give it our all so that Sophitia doesn’t have to use all her power. Then she won’t have to leave,” Lute said, starting to bounce. No one replied.

“I’m afraid that if that were possible, then we wouldn’t have brought Sophitia here in the first place, as any other Pokémon would be able to handle it. And besides, even if you were to convince Artemis, Sophitia cannot keep our powers. They are a part of us,” Diancie said. Lute cringed and he blinked away tears, forcing himself to keep smiling. “Sophitia would have to return to her world eventually.”

“Then we can just… we should… but that’s… that’s not fair,” he said, gradually getting quieter. “That’s not fair at all.”

“Lute,” Sophitia said, walking in front of him. He couldn’t look at her, so she knelt down and pulled his face to hers with two feelers. “It _is_ fair.”

“But it’s not. You didn’t even get to live.”

“I did get to live, thanks to you. You took me in, promised me you would help me get my memory back, and brought me on this adventure. I have lived, I’ve lived treasured memories I know I’m never going to forget. And you know what? You succeeded your promise after all,” she said. He mouthed a reply. “You helped me get my memory back, just like you said you would. You literally went to the ends of the world to do that for me. Thank you.”

“Sophitia…”

“So now, let me pay you back properly, and make it so that you guys can live in your world. And all I ask is that you don’t forget me,” she said. “Consider that an order from me as team leader.”

“But I… I-I don’t want to live in a world without you. I just… I only just realised I love you,” he said, looking up at her. “Now you have to go forever? That’s not fair.”

“It wouldn’t be right, Lute. Oh,” she said, taking her feelers off him. “And besides, life moves on. Even after I’m gone, you’re probably gonna meet some other girl. Or guy, if you prefer. And they’re gonna see this golden side of you, and wanna go on adventures with you to the ends of the world. And you two are gonna make each other the happiest Pokémon in the world. That’s how it works, right Marina?”

“I agree. Think of it this way, Lute: we’re all being given a chance to live our lives properly from here on. You saw me do it just today with Evoli. Does it look like I don’t care about him anymore?” Marina said. He seemed surprised by the question, and shook his head to say no. “It’s not like Sophitia’s dying, either. She’s just going back to her world to live her life anew.”

“_But her friends are here,_” he cried in his head, trying not to tear up.

“You don’t have to be so strong about it, you know,” Infia cried, half hiding her face.

“Chins up, wipe those tears away. We’re on the crux of our last battle! Let’s see it through, and see it through with our best. No one gets hurt and nobody has any regrets!” Sophitia raised her voice, standing tall. Nobody could stop, and she slumped to her side. “Diancie. I know they’re crying and all, but I dunno how much time we have left. How do we get up to Balunercc?”

“Are you certain about this?” she replied.

Sophitia cleared her throat and spoke aloud. “I was prepared to do this on my own in the first place. If it hurts them too much, then I’ll spare them the pain and just do it myself. It’s the same for me either way.”

“Don’t say something so mean!” Lute shouted.

“I’m not being mean. You know I’m like this, I don’t sit around thinking twice when someone’s in trouble,” she said, glancing back at him. He growled and turned away.

“I know. I-I know, but still,” he said.

“You will fly there using our method of transport. My personal chaperone, our giant Togekiss called Angel. Girls, would you do the honours, please?” Diancie said.

Florrie and Floette nodded, holding their flowers by their mouths. When all was silent, they began to blow, having their voices come out as a flute-like whistle instead. Together they played a jingle, one note at a time, alternating between each other. The serene tune was soothing and angelic, if not a little familiar. The group huddled together on instinct, confused when the song stopped.

No one asked the obvious, exchanging a few glances to get shrugs and raised eyebrows. Diancie wasn’t bothered though, and they would soon know why. Off in the distance from goodness knows where, the cheer of a Togekiss echoed toward them, and their attentions were brought to its direction. All they could see coming at them was a giant wake of dust and sand, as if a sandstorm was ripping through the stone.

“Wait a minute, what is?” Kuri said, wary.

“Hold on tight now, all of you,” Diancie said cheerfully.

The group flinched as the thing was heading toward them faster than it appeared. In an instant, All of them were scooped up and placed of the soft, feathery back of a giant Togekiss. And this Togekiss was colossal – the six of them put together were smaller than one of the tufts on the fairy type’s head. As such, it flew at a remarkable speed, and with a flap of its wings, doubled that speed to soar through the gem-fields of Moand Dia.

“It’s… it’s really a giant Togekiss!” Lute gasped, his eyes gleaming again. Angel had more than enough room to twist and turn throughout the area too, gracefully soaring and diving to maintain an impressive pace. Without thinking about it, Lute and the others held onto her fur as well as each other to keep balanced.

“Guys, the water!” Infia cried.

“Huh?” Lute said. He had just a moment to gasp before Angel ascended into an oceans worth of water that was magically part of the ceiling, where she soared through the water the same way as she flew. He barely adjusted to it, clenching her back and Sophitia’s paw, but he was able to open his eyes after a moment. Angel was ascending so quickly that a current was forming around them, meaning that the distant surface didn’t seem too far away from them. The familiar sea life of their world soon took over the backdrop, and moments later, they breached the surface, launching high into Aseria’s sky.

Angel stopped to pose, letting out a triumphant but angelic cry. Lute and the group felt that level of grandeur themselves, smiling in awe at the world around them. This was nothing like being in the gondolas, or maybe it was because the sun was out, the clouds were natural, and the world around them was so colourful and blue. It was uplifting, a relaxing mixture of chilly wind and fair warmth from the sun making it feel like a free fly rather than a simple trip on public transport.

From here, the lands of the continents below could hardly be recognised, as if they were toy worlds made of plastic or something. Likewise, Balunercc was a believable distance away, and its gargantuan size brought its otherworldly surface frighteningly close. They could land on there in minutes if Angel headed towards it.

“Angel, do you mind dropping me off back in Everend? I’m not technically part of their team, I wouldn’t last!” Marina said, having to shout out. She got a peppy noise as a response, and the Togekiss wiggled her wings.


	37. The Definition Of Hero

“I’ve packed you guys multiple Escape Orbs and a whole lunchbox full of Sitrus Berries, too. You’ll find the Oran Berries in your personal packs, and the Sitrus ones in the middle bag there. Use those to keep your strength up and don’t feel bad for not hoarding them, okay?” Marina said, running through a checklist. The group were awkwardly posed and lined up while a whole host of agents checked them over.

It looked like the entirety of Everend had come to see them off or at least see what the crowding was all about. Lute tried to look away while Marina straightened and combed his fur, meanwhile the agents made the whole thing look like a military operation. Thankfully that kept the general public a good distance back, even though there was no police tape or anything.

“Mum, this isn’t a field trip,” he groaned, brushing her paw away.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t look good during it. I wish you would take a page out of Esther’s book,” she said, fighting his fidgeting. That made him exchange glances with Infia, and the two of them set off giggling. “What’s so funny about that? I’m serious.”

“You don’t know her the way I do. It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” he said. “What’s taking Sophitia so long? Kuri’s not here yet either.”

“I’m not surprised he’s keeping a lady waiting,” Esther said, paws on her hips. He happened to arrive just then, and palmed his face when he saw the agents fretting over everyone.

“You guys are takin’ this seriously, aren’t you? Are you all prepared?” he said.

“Of course! Clothes clean, weapon sharpened, tummy stuffed, restroom used, and all stretches done,” Esther said. “How about you? Applied enough makeup yet?”

“I was catching Gen up to speed with everything that’s happened. She can’t come with us, so she’s planning on helping out the other continents if Artemis’ Pokémon come off planet,” he said. “I don’t want this to come to war, though. We’re both too exhausted from it.”

Esther opened her mouth to give a cheeky retort, but let it go instead. The last thing they needed right now was a little bickering over whatever they felt. So she gave him a happy smile and held Infia’s paw instead.

“Guys, sorry for the holdup!” Sophitia cried, dashing through the crowd after a moment. She was sweating and puffing a bit, but gave them a toothy smile. “I got caught up with a little something. Didn’t mean to make you wait.”

“Is everything okay? It isn’t like you,” Phoenix said. She nodded at him and approached Lute.

“Close your eyes and hold out your paws,” she sang. He obeyed, although wary about it. “Hope you’re not allergic to feathers.”

“It’s,” he said, confused about it. It was a little red plastic collar with a shiny blue feather sticking out the side of it. He could easily clip it on underneath his mane where it wouldn’t obstruct his necklace, leaving only the feather to stick out. “Huh. It’s neat. But why?”

“I always thought you could do with a little more style. And well, I made it a bit of a parting gift. That’s why it’s blue,” she said, smiling. “Look after it, won’t you?”

“A parting gift? What for? Who’s parting?” Raiju said, making her shriek.

“Raiju! don’t sneak up on me like that!” she gasped.

“Oops, sorry. But really, who’s parting? What’s parting?” he said, bouncing up and down. “Shock that, what’s happening? You guys are altogether here and it looks super cool and I wanna be part of it!”

“Will you pipe down for one second and actually let others answer?” Cinder said. “But seriously, even I’m curious. This is quite a scene.”

“You didn’t tell your school friends?” Marina said, drawing all attention to Lute. He grumbled a little.

“I didn’t tell them because there’s nothing all that important to tell them. It’s obvious we were going to stop Balunercc from crashing,” he said.

Kuri groaned and pulled his hand down his face. “Didn’t we just tell Diancie off for this? And even then, they’re the public, Lute. They don’t have a clue what’s going on.”

“And they shouldn’t know. It’s one our duties as Agents of King’s Shield to keep them safe and comfortable,” Phoenix said, addressing Lute. “But they are your friends. You should tell them.”

“Guys. Urf. Look, Sophitia it’s a really thoughtful thing but, we’re going to make sure you don’t have to go away,” Lute said.

“Go away?” Raiju repeated, going quiet.

“No matter what it takes, I’m going to make sure you don’t have to use your power. By the end of this, you’ll be coming home with us,” he said.

“Wait wait wait, power? If I’m reading into this right, then,” Cinder said, glancing back and forth.

“Hee hee, that’s the spirit!” Sophitia said, smiling in glee. The others seemed surprised. “What’s with those looks? Aren’t you guys gonna one-up him and try even harder?”

“Hmpf. If you want to go about it that way, I’m not going to complain,” Kuri said.

“So that’s the new strategy? I can dig that. Sophie sits back for once and we give ol’ Artemis an ass whoopin’. Easier done than said!” Esther cheered.

“I think you mean ‘easier said than done’, which is sort of a bad thing,” Infia said, giggling.

“Nope. I meant what I said, too!”

“Esther, hee hee hee. I’m going to do my best too,” She said.

“And as for you, you _do_ like the collar, don’t you? It was pretty tough choosing between a new necklace and a collar, you know,” Sophitia said.

“Hey I never said I hated it or anything. It’s pretty cool for something you just whipped together,” he said, posing with it.

“And it looks good on you,” she said, gleeful at her work. “Right then. I’m guessing you’ve all been ready for a good while, so shall we go and put an end to this?”

“Wait wait wait I’m so confused, where are you going, what’s happening?” Raiju cried, looking worried.

“That planet that’s storming over there on the horizon? We’re going there, and we’re going to stop it,” Lute said. “I know it looks super dangerous, but trust us. We’ve been through worse. We’ll be back by the end of the day. So until then, I’m still counting on you two to help look after Everend, you know.”

“But what was all that stuff about somebody leaving? Sophitia gave you a parting gift. Is Sophitia going away?” Raiju said.

Lute’s face contorted, and he looked to his teammates for a sign. They all stood back though, besides Kuri, who was plain as ever with his arms folded and foot tapping. Seeing that, he sighed and faced forward, blinking a few times to steady himself.

“The short of it is that the foe we’re facing is a mythical Pokémon who’s extremely powerful. Sophitia has the power to defeat them, but if she uses that power, she’ll fade away,” he said.

“So that’s what you meant by trying so hard she doesn’t have to,” Cinder muttered. Lute nodded. Silence fell for a moment.

“Don’t worry, if you guys are. I mean it, we’ll try our hardest, two-hundred percent. Sophitia is coming home with us,” he said, smiling.

There was still a lengthy silence where even Raiju was a twister of emotional reactions. Cinder eventually came closer and patted Lute’s side. “Nothing I say now isn’t going to sound condescending. So this is me just accepting that you’re the grownup now, okay?”

“Cinder…”

“That means you and everyone else has to come back okay, right? You just made a promise, Lute. I’m looking forward to that,” Cinder said, turning his back. He walked out of the crowd after that, leaving Raiju totally confused.

“He’s going to need cheering up,” Lute said with a smile. Raiju nodded unsurely and took off after him, leaving Lute and his team at last. He turned to them and nodded, keeping that smile.

“Right. Let’s do this. Marina, if you would, please,” Sophitia said, nodding to her.

Marina started giving orders to the other agents and the crowd of Pokémon, sending them back a few paces. Once they had a lot of space, Sophitia unveiled a small blue flower and began to blow on it, using its petals as a flute to play the tune Florrie and Floette had played. Moments later, Angel’s symphonic cry echoed across the sky, and the giant Togekiss appeared from somewhere beyond the sky. The group jumped onto her back in style, gathering by her front to cling on.

Within minutes, they were miles in the air and heading directly towards Balunercc. The group held on in silence, focused on their surroundings. As they got closer to the dark, storming planet, the blue of the sky seemed to change colour and the uncomfortable chill of their height faded. It felt as if a wicked wind full of moisture had begun to whip them like a hurricane, but it wasn’t strong enough to unbalance Angel or throw them off her back.

“You are heading towards Balunercc now, yes?” Diancie’s voice echoed, sounding like it was in Lute’s mind. It took everyone off-guard and they looked around for its source, though nothing was there. “Do not fret. It is only my telepathy.”

“Oh. Then yeah, we’re going for Balunercc now,” Sophitia said.

“Hold on tight. The gravitation pull of that world will try to unbalance you. But I will ensure that you can land safely,” she said.

Right on cue, the wind around them began to intensify and the group had to hold on with both paws. Angel gave a displeased cry as she started flapping her wings to try and fight it, but it was no use. The next thing they knew, she was plummeting headfirst even though she was trying so hard to right herself and spin. A horrible wave of heat and pressure struck the group like a weight, pinning them down to the spot.

Lute wanted to cry out, but it whatever was happening, he couldn’t open his eyes or his mouth. He was being suffocated by the speed they were moving and spinning through the air. It was almost like if he opened his mouth, his lips might tear right off. Yet it wasn’t particularly painful, just an unbearable pressure that stopped him from moving even though he desperately wanted to.

And then, just as suddenly as it had happened, all the pressure vanished. He was able to gasp and take in much needed air, so the first thing he did was stretch and relax himself. Angel letting out a curious noise kept him in focus, and he flinched.

It was like he had entered an entirely new world. Angel slowly descended toward the surface, which was a crusty, pure grey stone littered with crater after crater. A forest of dead trees surrounded their landing spot, though each tree had large and long enough branches to barricade the cloudy sky beyond. There was at least a natural humidity that was comfy to be in after their horrible entry experience.

“Look!” Infia cried, pointing straight upward. He had to squint to see it, but behind all the garnet hue of the sky was a foggy, faded view of Aseria, a massive sphere of blue, white, and green. He couldn’t take his eyes off it, or his intense glare.

It was so quiet, too. No wind blew, no wildlife chirped, not a single natural noise. They could hear every scrape crumble as they dismounted Angel and spread out across the area. A fog as black as night sat in all directions bar one, a main path as marked out by the trees.

“We’re really here. And it’s so alien,” Sophitia said. “Wasn’t this supposed to be Artemis’ country? I know it’s a country for Carbink, but it’s not what I was expecting.”

“Diancie did say he was preparing to destroy Aseria. He must have turned it into a fortress or something,” Kuri said. “We’re not here to sightsee though, and I don’t think I’d want to do that even if I could. Let’s get this over with.”

“Good call. Angel, thank you so much. Go take a load off somewhere. We’ll call when we need you,” Sophitia said, laying a feeler on the Togekiss. A chirpy cry was a response, and then the giant Pokémon took off, but not without a great gust shaking the woodland around them.

Silence fell again. The group took to following Sophitia and Lute’s lead without instruction, who followed the main path away from the fog. They were unnerved by the light crumbling of rocks they could hear with each step, but the ground felt as stable as ground could be, so that was confusing. Their breaths were unsettled though, even as their poses were prepared. Sophitia tried not to look back at everyone or give away that their insecurities were making her uncomfortable, but it couldn’t be helped.

After a few minutes, Phoenix suddenly dashed to the front and growled, glaring into the darkness of the forest. A large red gleam was shaking a bit, getting slightly bigger and bigger as time went by. No one needed to say anything to prepare for battle.

“Wait what?” Sophitia said as the gleam came into view. It was a Starmie walking through the black fog, where only its gem glowed. “You’re a Pokémon.”

“There’s loads of them,” Esther said.

“When did they get behind us?” Kuri whispered, uncertain of it.

Within a couple of minutes, a whole army of Pokémon had appeared around them, their only visibility in the fog being the glow of their eyes. Clefairy, Clefable, Staryu, Starmie, Solrock, and Lunatone were the species recognised, but there was one more. A small Pokémon at about Lute’s height, a fairy with humanoid features silently fluttering on crystalline wings. Its whole body shone with a rich, seemingly transparent blue, which nearly camouflaged its eyes. They had thin arms with mitten-like hands on the ends, and hard lower halves resembling growing crystal instead of legs.

“What are those? I’ve never seen a Pokémon like that before,” Lute said, stretching his feet apart. He calmed down when the Pokémon stopped by the edge of the trees, no longer approaching.

“They don’t look like they want to fight,” Infia said, calming down as well. She let go of Esther’s paw and slowly approached, to which a Starmie came out to greet her.

“Careful,” Esther said.

Her warning was unfounded, though. The Starmie seemed to stare at her, and she stared right back in silence. And then it floated off the ground and began to glide down the path, spinning its body around its gem.

“They want us to follow them,” she said, pointing at it.

“How odd. After everything, they’re inviting me home,” Sophitia said, smiling eagerly. “C’mon you guys.”

“Are you sure this is safe?” Lute said, running to keep beside her.

“If it isn’t, we’ll deal with it.”

The foggy forest continued like this for a good ten or so minutes, never changing height or direction even once. The rigidness in its road was unnatural even compared to something one would find in a city – the trees were all perfectly aligned right the way up until they spread out into another clearing. This clearing was actually a humongous crater the size of a canyon, its slope so large that the group had to climb it. It wasn’t difficult, but the peak looked to be exactly where they wanted to be.

In the centre of this crater was a staircase wider than could fit into their sight. It went straight up out of their sight as well, like a literal mountain of stairs leading up to the heavens beyond the clouds. At patterned intervals were coloured markings on the steps, as well as magical rings that slowly rotated around the stairs.

“Er, you don’t seriously want us to climb that, do you?” Kuri said, looking at the Starmie. It bowed its body as if offering itself, and he smiled. “You’re a lifesaver. I’ll buy you a drink sometime.”

“Kuri, we still don’t know if this is safe or no- ah!” Lute cried, getting scooped up by a Starmie of his own. Some of the unidentified fairy types carried Esther and Infia on their backs, and soon the group were ascending the giant staircase.

Once higher up, Lute couldn’t help but look around to admire the better view of the planet. But everywhere looked to be as strange as his first experience, minus the gigantic dead trees. The regions beyond here were either giant stone plains with more craters, or forests of dead trees in remarkably unnatural layouts. Everywhere was totally square in layout, right down to perfect ninety-degree angles at their corners. He didn’t offer a comment and focused forward.

The air around them grew colder as the reddish colours of the horizon turned into the glittering darkness of stars in space. The higher they went, the more he could see his breath come out as smoke. But he didn’t feel cold, oddly. He was too concentrated. He didn’t even think about looking down.

The Pokémon took them right to the top of the stairs, where a perfectly flat, perfectly tiled platform awaited them. It was like an arena was laid out for them, where although it had no barricades, its corners were marked out by mystical towers made of glowing diamond. An energy flowed through the diamond towers like a visible current, which was expelled from the top of the towers via a magical ring just like the ones surrounding the staircases. Here, the scenery was the garnet of reds that filled the sky, half tainted by the black fog that filled the forests. The upper half was outer space, which glistened on occasion.

“Well this wasn’t my idea of a welcome home party. I guess they’re making it a surprise party?” Sophitia said, warily stepping forward. Nothing. All was as quiet as before.

Lute turned back to speak to the Pokémon, but they had already left. He could still see a lot of them gathering around this area however, almost as if they were an audience. “This… this really is a trap, isn’t it?”

“Just stay on your guard,” Phoenix said, watching his back. The group had spread out into a circular formation.

“Like I said. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it,” Sophitia said, frowning. She hopped forward into the middle of the arena and glared straight up. “Hey, Artemis! Naivie! Whichever of you is here. We made it here. Show yourselves!”

There was no response.

“Heh. Really guys? We save you the trouble by coming to you on your home turf, and you can’t even greet us? How rude!”

Silence for a another moment. Just as she opened her mouth to ramble more, a loud bleep came from the middle of the arena, followed by the floor lighting up. Sophitia warily stepped back while the others took place beside her, but it turned out to just be the light of a Teleportal. It came from below rather than above, a white glow flowing between the tiles of the flooring before flying up in a huge pillar of light in front of them.

Naivie came out of the light, alongside a huge throne made entirely of blue crystals. Just like the one Diancie was sealed in, a Pokémon was frozen within, a royal figure that looked to be as tall as she was.

“I don’t know how you weaklings survived for so long, or how you managed to make it all the way here. I don’t even get why Lord Artemis invited you so, but that’s not the way to respond to him,” Naivie said. She was back in her tiny form, so her voice was loud and squeaky again.

“Hey to be fair, parties aren’t my thing. So if your man’s giving me the invite, he needs to make it worth my time,” Sophitia said.

“Don’t bother coming here with that attitude. I imagine you’ve come here believing you’re all ‘legendary heroes’ and that you’re going to ‘save the world’ or some trite. But you don’t really understand anything!” she shouted, shaking with fury. “You just pranced along doing your own thing like you were the only ones in the whole world who mattered. But the reality is, none of you matter, only Sophitia does! And since she likes to play the dumb little amnesiac, she fell right into your pathetic little games.”

“_Dumb little amnesiac? Naivie doesn’t know that we’ve met Diancie,_” Lute thought, realising. “_This means Sophitia’s powers are a trump card._”

“Let me tell you. You’re here because you’re special to us. And you’re the only one who was ever invited. Nobody else matters! If you’re ready to accept your place here where you belong, then we can take back what’s ours. The world that was stolen from us,” Naivie said. “And if you refuse, then it’ll be a public execution right in front of his highness. That’s the highest honour you could ever be given.”

“You’re the one delivering trite. You’re still going on about that rubbish as if our response is ever going to change,” Kuri said.

“Hmpf. Whatever. It was Lord Artemis’ orders to invite you here anyway, so I’ll let him decide whether he wants to hear your dribble or not,” she said, turning her back to address the diamond throne. With a prayer and a bash, the throne began to glow, slowly fading away. “I should warn you, though. We are on the precipice of a new generation. And you Pokémon are the ones who decided it.”

The moment the crystal faded away, a tremendous force blew across the area. The group couldn’t help but growl and slump forward as if a weight had been pushed down on them, even though there was nothing there. It took a moment to adjust, but even then, they were left short of breath and on shaky legs.

The figure of Artemis had light peel off it, unveiling his royal details. He resembled Diancie in many ways, from his humanoid figure clothed in a white dress, to the gemstone and circlet of diamonds on his head. His gems were all a shining blue in colour, and the gemstone on his head was shaped like a five-pointed star. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing purple pupils in a blue eyes.

“Is that his aura? It’s so powerful,” Phoenix growled, straining to keep facing forward. The force stopped before long, enabling them to stand normally again.

Naivie twirled around him a few times, laughing happily. “You’re back. I can’t believe you’re finally back. I’m so happy, Lord Artemis. You’re finally back, and you never have to go away ever again.”

Strange words began to echo through the minds of the group, causing them all to tense up and shift backwards. The royal, masculine tone implied that it was Artemis speaking through telepathy like Diancie did, but his words made no sense. It brought Naivie to a stop tough, but she still fluttered beside him.

“Forgive me, I just cannot express how happy and relieved I am that you’re here. I’ve missed you so much, my lord. And I had to suffer for such a long time with these Pokémon from the lower world,” she said, glaring at Lute and the others. “Many times I almost gave up! If it wasn’t for your words, I would have given myself away.”

“What’s going on, is he speaking? I’ve never heard these words before,” Lute cried over Artemis’ dialogue. Sophitia beamed up.

“You guys can’t understand what he’s saying?” she cried.

“Don’t tell me you can?” Esther gasped.

“He’s speaking another language,” she said, facing forward again. Artemis kept talking the whole time, disregarding their confusion.

“Um, translation then?” Kuri said.

“Hold on,” Sophitia said. “For much time I have awaited your return, Sophitia. Your amnesia came as a surprise to me. It made me curious as to what might happen on Aseria, especially with my influence taking such a hold of society.”

“Your influence? Weren’t you sealed all this time?” Lute said. There was a pause, and then the voice started up again. Sophitia had to wait until a few words had been said before slowly repeating.

“Since my departure from Aseria, I have been playing my hand in the game of Aseria’s evolution. I gifted the secret of evolution to a Pokémon you know as Lassic, and advised him in methods with which to rule the world. Like the sinful mortal he is, he took that knowledge for himself and attempted to go further. Rather than becoming Aseria’s trusted leader, he used that power to seek the creation of a new world, considering himself above the level of a god,” She said, speaking monotone the whole time. “But I was surprised by the outcome of that story. I did not expect Pokémon who valued the past to rise against him and try to revive those old ways. Without my guidance, you Pokémon revived the ancient flowers.”

“But that wasn’t without your guidance. Naivie guided us. Isn’t she your champion?” Lute said. Artemis hesitated again. His face didn’t change as he spoke psychically.

“Sophitia was sent to this world to prevent Pokémon from ever discovering the ancient flowers. But when I learnt of Lassic’s true nature, my intentions changed. I wanted Naivie to awaken the flowers, that way I could use their power to maximise my strength and wipe out all life. I wish to start life anew with superior races who would not seek conquest and destruction,” Sophitia said. “You Pokémon became interesting to me. This is technically the path you have chosen by choosing to defeat Lassic and rely on the ancient flowers like so. I will give you a proposal.”

“Oh whoa, you’re giving them a chance? You’re so benevolent, my lord,” Naivie said.

“You Pokémon fought to change the future of Pokémon and the actions of your generation. If you Pokémon would pledge your alliance to me, then I will not wipe you out. We can rebuild Aseria together,” Sophitia said. Her face snapped to something serious. “Wait I get where this is going. Because we value the flowers, you’re gonna ask us to stay here with you while you wipe out the rest of Aseria, aren’t you?”

“That’s horrible! That’s not what were fighting for. We wanted to help everyone,” Infia said. Artemis thought about his response, and then said something brief.

“He says this is non-negotiable,” Sophitia said.

“Well that’s all kindsa messed up. That’s not why we did all this, I swear?” Esther said, stepping forward. “If Lassic’s stuff wasn’t like, destroying nature and all that, we’d have kept his tech you know. It’s kinda good for Pokémon, even those with disabilities. We just _had_ to compromise to keep the planet safe. But we’re gonna find a better way to help those Pokémon.”

“Destroying the world as we know it won’t solve our problems. We’re going to shape it into something right for everyone,” Phoenix said. Artemis spoke again.

“That is not the way the world of Aseria functions. My Pokémon, the Carbink, were forced into a world of suffering by the constant conflict of Aseria. Even generations later when your supposed peace reigns, Pokémon such as Lassic would be born, who would go on to make the same mistakes as the past,” Sophitia repeated, looking down. Artemis paused, and then continued talking when he got no response. “I am a creator. A mythical Pokémon that stands as the next ruler after Diancie. It is as I will it. I decree the complete erasure of all Pokémon on Aseria, so that I may rebuild this world from scratch. I am giving you, an intelligent party of Pokémon who understand a world of equality, a chance to join me. If you refuse, then I will erase you as well.”

“Artemis, wait!” Lute cried.

“That’s Lord Artemis to you! Have some respect,” Naivie spat.

“Er, Lord Artemis, please wait. I think you need to see the world for yourself. It isn’t the same as it was before. The time of kings and conquest is over, Pokémon aren’t like that anymore,” Lute said. “Everyone was living in worry and terror when Lassic nearly destroyed the world. No one knew what was going to happen with the seasons either, but they were all working together to try and stop it.”

“You do not understand the world the way I do, mortal,” Artemis spoke physically, taking everyone by surprise. His voice was extremely old and dry, but his tone echoed with a searing frustration. Despite that, he returned to speaking through telepathy again, forcing Sophitia to shake it off and translate.

“I-if I was to adhere to your beliefs and leave Aseria be, then it would only be a matter of time before another evil sp-spawns, a Pokémon that would seek to control the world through their own means,” Sophitia said, shuddering.

“Sophitia, take it easy. We’re here,” Kuri said, putting a hand on her. She nodded, rose her head, took a deep breath, and then continued.

“It may take generations. Centuries. Millennia. Time you may never get to see. But to us mythical Pokémon, that is but the blink of an eye. We have to deal with mortals stepping far out of line when we gift you life and a world,” she repeated. She looked up at him. “You know, by that logic, there will always be Pokémon like us, too. Pokémon who’ll stand up to it.”

“We will never see this eye to eye,” he said, his voice loud and echoing throughout the area.

“Please Artemis, just look at the world. You’ve been sealed for such a long time. I promise you with my life, things are completely different to what they were back then. Your Carbink may have been sealed away before, but they would be allowed to come back and live with us now, and nobody would shun you. We all need to try to work together to live together,” Lute cried.

“You had your choice, mortal. My Pokémon faced near irreversible evolution into the Carbink you see before you today,” he said, raising his arms.

“Carbink evolve? You mean… those blue Pokémon, they’re the original Carbink?” Lute gasped. Then it hit him like a truck.

Cistern Citadel and all of its features. The messed up paths of the Inner Earth. The open fields of the Diamond Domain. All of it was perfect for the small flying creatures he saw back there. But for the Carbink species he knew, the heavy, rocky creature that lived underground, it would be impossible. The Carbink had to have regressed.

“Exactly how long have you been here? For Carbink to have gone from that to what we have now – h-how old is Sophitia?” Lute whispered, eyes widening.

“It matters not. I gave you a choice. Now your fate is decided!” Artemis said, beginning to glow. Naivie let out a sound of surprised strain as she started glowing as well, and soon they were surrounded by pink spheres of energy which completely hid their appearance. The spheres rose off the ground, glowing and growing in size. A heavy breeze came from both, which quickly became strong enough to make the group cover their faces.

“What’s happening?” Esther called out.

“It’s like some kind of cocoon. They’re changing form!” Sophitia said. She gasped when Artemis’ voice projected into their heads, once again needing to be translated. “This is a power long lost to your world. The Ancient Flowers once had champions guarding each, and they were Pokémon hand-picked by myself and Diancie. They were gifted our power, granted the capability of Mega Evolution.”

“Mega Evolution? That must be Artemis’ full strength,” Lute said.

By now the spheres surrounding Artemis and Naivie had grown greatly in size, specifically to over twice their original height and width. Energy was leaking from them in the form of blinding pink light, while streams of sparkling energy streamed around both in a crackling orbit. The spheres soon burst, unveiling the evolved Pokémon within.

Naivie had changed appearance almost completely. Her head was round and retained its ears for wings, but her eyes had been given life. A royal muffler hid her neck and a small blue diamond on her chest, while a dress similar to Artemis’ now adorned her form. Her rocky underside was just about visible, but it had far more diamond than it did rock.

Artemis on the other hand, had grown massive. The star shaped diamond on his head had become a gleaming blue heart, supported by a tiara of diamonds all around the back of his head. His upper body and arms had become thinner, while his lower half lost all of its rocky parts in place of a long, freely flowing dress tipped with enormous strands of diamond. Ribbons and disconnected shards of diamond flowed around him constantly as his energy influenced the wind around him.

That strange pressure that pinned the group to the spot had come back, once again forcing them onto one knee. With everyone at his mercy, he spun and performed a few arm movements, ending with both hands held together. He pulled one apart from the other, forming a very long, razor-thin rapier between them. When fully formed, the rapier was adorned with darker blue diamonds by its hilt.

“This is… Lord Artemis, you brought me back to my original self. I’m so happy, I could just burst!” Naivie cheered. Lute leaned back in disbelief. The last thing he was expecting to hear from her was the voice of an adult woman. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this free and looked this good. There’s so much power welling up through my body. I feel like I could fly around the world!”

“That’s Naivie’s original form?” Infia said, still on one paw. “What’s happening? I can’t move.”

“This must be what Diancie warned us about. It’s like there’s so much power coming from them it’s pinning my body. It’s just like Lassic’s rapture,” Kuri growled, straining with all his strength to stand. “There’s so much V-Waves coming from them that my body is being crushed.”

“So that’s it. His mere presence exudes that much power. After coming all this way!” Phoenix snarled.

“You’re supposed to be the tough guy who can do anything. Stand up and do something, Kuri!” Esther cried. By now, Artemis was floating before them with his sword raised high, energy building up its blade and surrounding it in aqua coloured flames.

“Me? You do something instead of complaining about it!” he argued.

“Guys,” Lute growled. It took all his strength to not topple over, but he couldn’t do much more than squint and look up at his attacker. His hearing was the only thing that seemed to be functioning correctly, and all that did was filled him with fury. Naivie was laughing and giggling aloud, prancing around like a little girl in a funfair.

He wanted to get out of the way. He needed to get out of the way. Yet no matter how hard he cried, growled, and forced his body to, all he could feel was the pain of his straining as it refused to move an inch. Artemis almost seemed to be taunting him, holding that sword up so high for so long when he could have just stabbed him ages ago. Even his mouth wouldn’t move, besides losing its breath to those growls.

“_This can’t really be it. This is impossible,_” he cried in his head, gasping. His head hung, his strength sapping far. He couldn’t even look up anymore. “_This really is what Diancie warned us about. Artemis’ godly power. But if it’s so much that we can’t even move, then Sophitia is going to… I can’t. I can’t let her_!”

He went to growl, tensing and bracing himself as much as he could. He still wasn’t moving, but he kept going anyway. He just kept growling louder and louder, welling up every last ounce of effort he could muster. His necklace was glowing brightly with all the energy he was demanding, yet it was still so little that he could only bring his head to look back up. Artemis’ attack was fully charged, and his sword was encased in raging blue flames.

The mythical Pokémon paid him no heed besides an emotionless glare. Their eyes met directly, and Lute could feel Artemis’ shallow pity frustrate him. When the blade was gripped with both hands, he hung his head again. He couldn’t move. It was all over.

“Don’t!” Sophitia cried, standing over him. She crossed all four of her feelers together and stood firm, forming a giant shield around the two of them, a half sphere made of solid light. Artemis’ blade crashed against it with tremendous force, sending an explosive shockwave across the sky that wiped the area clean. The pillars in the four corners were each cracked by the blast, while Naivie let out a squeak as she was knocked away. The flames dispersed from the sword, scattering around the arena in a wild dance of embers and streaks.

That wasn’t the end of her action, either. With a triumphant cry of her own, Sophitia unfurled her feelers to dismiss her shield, pushing Artemis back with her own shockwave. “I won’t let you destroy this world!”

Artemis’ eyes widened as her energy spiked, reversing his overwhelming aura completely. Sophitia was glowing brilliantly, and with another cry, her aura expanded into a field of swirling blues and pinks. Her aura enveloped the arena, relieving Lute and the others of the pressure that had them pinned down. Artemis guarded his face from it, though he remained shocked the whole time.

“Sophitia, no!” Lute cried, looking up at her.

“Sorry guys. I know this wasn’t part of your plan, but… well, I don’t really need to explain it, do I?” she said, glancing back at them. She was surrounded by a constant energy flow that looked like a clear fire, though it had a constant hue of blues and pinks. However, those flames seemed to be eating away at her form, as strands of fur burnt off her body as the seconds went by. It was only slight, but it clearly had her pushed to her limit as she wouldn’t stop gritting her teeth.

“That power!” Artemis said, shaking in awe. He quickly collected himself and slowly floated back down toward them, posing with his sword. “It appears that I have underestimated you. I did not think that you would come back here to do exactly as Diancie prophesied you would. But it is of little concern. If you would side with these Pokémon, do you truly have what it takes to defeat me and protect your world?”

Naivie flew back to his side, still surprised by what had just happened. “You gotta be kidding me! You meant to say you guys already met Diancie?”

“Sophitia. You are the only one with the power to bring harm to me, but that power will not last forever. The rest of you are but pawns in her little game,” he said.

“You’re wrong, Artemis. They’re my champions. And they’re gonna put an end to your petty tantrum,” Sophitia announced, posing proudly. “We’ve done it once before and we’ll do it again, against all odds, no matter what it takes. We protect our planet. We are the heroes of Aseria!”

“Again with the hero nonsense. I made all that rubbish up. You’re just ordinary Pokémon, you can’t touch us!” Naivie said. She was struck by a sudden Energy Ball, and to her surprise, it knocked her down to the ground. “What the- how dare you!”

“It looks like you oughta shut up, ‘cos that looked like it dealt damage to me,” Kuri said, holding onto another one. The whole team was ready to fight beside him, weapons out and attacks ready. Naivie let out a shrill squeak of anger, grabbing her head.

“Lord Artemis! Permission to crush these insolent Pokémon once and for all?” she cried. He answered her by pointing his rapier at the group, and she smiled evilly. “I’m going to enjoy this more than I should.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Kuri said, stomping his feet to summon his Overgrow boost.

“Guys, keep Naivie off my back. I’ll handle Artemis,” Sophitia said, forming her sword and shield. Naivie had begun to spin, forming a cluster of jagged rocks that circled her with her movements.

“But Sophitia—”

“There’s no time to argue about this, Lute. Go!” she shouted.

He tried to argue a response but was thrown into the battle anyway. Naivie’s Rock Slide attack came down at them before he could say anything, with everyone else getting out of the way besides him. He grunted and braced the hits, but it still felt like several of the rocks had torn bits of his skin off. A moment later, he was half buried in a mess of diamond shards.

“Diamond Storm. I’m going to have to get used to using that one again,” Naivie said, tapping her chin. Esther’s ribbon wrapped around her waist and yanked her, earning a yelp and a squeak. She tried to fight against it, but with both Esther and Infia pulling down together, she was soon slammed down into the floor.

She got up cursing, but was immediately beset by Phoenix and Kuri together. The duo slammed into her with fists and claws, forcing her to bounce up and attempt to evade them completely. They chased her across the arena, just about nicking her with the lightest of hits until she was pressed up against a corner. After a second of hesitation, they charged Energy Ball and Flamethrower, forcing her to fly up high. The instant she did, Esther’s ribbon tangled around her again.

“Sorry buddy, strategy’s not gonna change,” Esther said, pulling her down again.

“You little- cut it out!” Naivie growled, raising both arms while pulling back. She struggled not to get slammed down, but managed to bring up a Moonblast attack between her palms. She threw it down at the two girls, taking them by surprise.

Before she could celebrate her little hit, Energy Ball knocked her back down instead, where Phoenix caught her arm and locked his jaw in place. She let out a shriek as his fangs dug right into her skin, piercing it to the bone. She let out a feral roar and used Moonblast with one hand, forcing Phoenix off her. He went scraping across the ground, but flipped back over once he was back at Kuri’s side.

Naivie was livid, now. She glared at the four of them, one arm clutching her wound. “It’s that Sylveon. That’s the only way you have the power to hurt me like this.”

“What’s the matter, done already? I thought we were going to be so easy you’d enjoy it?” Kuri said.

“And we haven’t even fused yet,” Esther said, twirling her baton around. Naivie growled even louder, but turned her attention to the battle above.

Lute had climbed one of the towers in the corner to get closer to Sophitia, ignoring Naivie’s battle entirely. He was in complete awe, struggling to focus and follow them both. Far higher up from the arena, Sophitia was giving chase to Artemis’ fluid mid-air flight by galloping through the sky, forming magical platforms of light below her. She leapt from platform to platform, many of them not appearing flat so that she could kick off them and follow at high speed.

He recognised this move. The day he met her, she used it to walk over the river in Everend. He didn’t know she had remembered it, but the way she used it now, it filled him with just as much dread and excitement as it did back then.

The two fairies clashed blades with stunning force every time they came close, attempting to slash one another in two. They would curve through the air and cross paths, striking one another so hard that a gush of wind and sparks flew off from each strike. Moonblast attacks collided in sparkling explosions of light, while Dazzling Gleam rained lasers through the dark space. All of this happened within the space of a few seconds, so from Lute’s distance, the sky was being lit up like a firework show, complete with ear-popping bangs and a chilling shiver after the big ones.

“Lord Artemis… he’s struggling?” Naivie whispered, getting pinned down. Kuri pressed her down with his foot, to which she growled and fired a Moonblast directly at the floor. “Will you just give it a rest already!”

“It’s funny, you’re the one running your mouth too much. You haven’t stopped complaining since we started!” Kuri said. Every combatant in their battle was covered in dirt and cuts, yet they all stood strong, surrounding Naivie on all sides. “After complaining at us all journey!”

“I- you- blast, this can’t be happening,” Naivie said, wary about them all around her. “There’s too many of them.”

Just then, Lute recognised what Artemis was doing, the same Diamond Storm move Naivie had used earlier. Sophitia had stopped moving to prepare her own move, holding her sword high and proud. He couldn’t fully tell from his distance, but it almost looked as though her weapon had powered up into a new attack, a blade made of flames that matched the colour of her aura.

Both of their attacks were launched at once. Artemis thrust both arms to send a swirling hurricane of diamonds straight at Sophitia, while she retaliated with a slash that unleashed a crescent shaped blast of energy. It flew straight through Artemis’ attack and struck him directly, but it didn’t stop his attack at all. The rain of solid diamonds quickly overwhelmed her, sending her sailing back towards the ground. She was bashing her shield forward to fend them off, but the sheer number and force of them had her descending fast.

“G-guys, look out!” Lute cried, realising what was about to happen.

All eyes glanced at him and then the attack from above, unable to move aside in time. Sophitia crashed right into a screaming Naivie with tremendous force, while Artemis’ Diamond Storm rained around the field and quickly buried it. The ground shook while screams and cries took over, everyone scattering before throwing themselves to the floor in a helpless attempt to escape.

With all the shaking and blasts going off, Lute had fallen off the tower and to the edge of the arena, escaping most of the damage besides the harsh fall. By the time he could climb back up, a stalemate had formed. Kuri and the others were battered and bruised toward the edges of what was left of the area, while mountainous piles of diamond lay here and there, mostly in the centre. Ditches had formed, leaving the once pristine platform as an unstable mess of cracks jagged ground.

“Sophitia, Naivie!” Lute cried at the top of his voice, ignoring the mess to run over. Artemis had descended to continue to fight, but halted completely when he heard those words.

Once he reached the pile of diamonds in the centre, he began to frantically throw them aside to dig into it, screaming their names the whole time. Minutes passed with the others standing up, watching with gawks. Soon enough, Naivie emerged, but she was breathing hard and miserable.

“Naivie,” Lute said, holding out a paw. She looked up at him, but slapped his paw aside, fluttering up to Artemis’ height. She barely made it, collapsing into his arms. He hardly reacted, but he did look surprised to see her faint. Lute stared at the two of them until he noticed Artemis’ attention diverted elsewhere, prompting him to turn as well.

Surrounding the battle were all the Pokémon that had escorted them here. A country’s worth had shown up, all of them stoic and silent in their poses. They gathered around in whatever way they could, surrounding the arena by flying, gathering on the stairs, and all so numerous that they could be seen as far as the eye could see.

Seeing the stalemate, Lute grit his teeth and went back to digging. He put his all into it, practically diving into the diamond pile to throw them aside and dig his way deeper. “Please be alive. Please for the love of almighty, be alive. I’m begging you.”

His heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of Sophitia’s fur. He clawed his way around it, unveiling her totally battered body. She looked fainted, but spat and coughed the moment he cradled her head. She still had her aura around her, and it was still peeling away at her.

“Sophitia! Sophitia stop already, please,” he begged. She shivered for a moment, and then to his surprise, started giggling. Those giggles turned into total laughter, right down to her clutching her stomach. “S-Sophitia?”

Everyone was completely silent until she stopped, but she didn’t appear to care at all. She looked up at Lute and cradled him, her eyes glistening with tears. “Geez Lute, you really are a fool in love, aren’t you? I told you to keep Naivie off my back, but instead, you sit and watch me the whole time. What a way to go!”

He didn’t know what to say. He could only utter a sound as she used him to struggle to her feet, where she could just about manage to sit without his aid. Once she was sure she was alright, she looked up at Artemis, a warm smile on her face. “You’re starting to get it now, aren’t ya?”

There was a long pause, broken by Artemis slowly descending. He came out of his mega evolved form, waking Naivie up. “Wa-wait, Lord Artemis. What is…?”

“Why do you care?” he asked. It took Lute a moment to realise that the question was directed at him.

“It’s… I-it’s just what I told you before,” he said, looking down. He gulped, thinking hard about his response. “I had no idea how long all of you suffered. But when I saw Naivie’s real form, I knew I didn’t really want to fight. I just want everyone to be able to live together. I desperately didn’t want Sophitia to use all her power and disappear as well.”

“Each of our lives is but a symbol of this world’s wrongdoings. And Naivie would serve to make your experience the worst. And yet, you show pity on her and refrain from taking her life,” Artemis said.

“H-huh? Wait, no way, they weren’t anywhere near killing me. I didn’t—” Naivie cried, trying not to look at everyone. “Lord Artemis, just finish them off! You won the battle. You got what you wanted.”

He let out a grumble and shut his eyes. “I was born in a time of conflict and suffering. My solution was to lament all life and flee, harbouring those feelings that I might return one day to enact revenge on it. But it seems that reality is far deeper than I ever learnt. Perhaps this is what Diancie wished for me to see.”

“But all they’re doing is fighting. They’re doing what they were doing all that time ago! We can’t live on a planet like that!” Naivie cried.

“Pokémon are fighting. But I never once asked what they were fighting for. I believed it was for selfish desires of conquest and domination,” Artemis said. Kuri and the others gathered behind Lute and Sophitia. “Sympathy, compassion, love. These are feelings I have never once experienced. I do not understand them. And yet, here and now, I can see that they are just as much a part of us as are feelings of hatred and anger.”

“If it’s not for fun, then it’s to stop some bad guy. Without bad guys to fight, we don’t have a reason to fight. I’d say you already get it,” Esther said.

“That so many Pokémon have gathered here, unbeknownst to who you are or what kind of person you are, having no concerns other than the potential loss of life. The Pokémon you see around you, Naivie ruled and lived amongst them, guided them when I did not,” Artemis said.

“But I was just following your orders, Lord Artemis! It’s you they look up to,” she cried. He gave her a look, and she flinched, rubbing her face. “I guess they did see me around a lot. They would be worried if I’d gotten hurt.”

Artemis turned back to the group. “You are not free from judgement, mortals. But perhaps, if I live amongst you, my heart could learn what yours all know so well.”

“Artemis,” Lute said, a light smile on his face. Just then, the a horrible rumbling noise took over the area and the world around them began to shake hard. It wasn’t stopping and was gradually getting worse. “E-er, what’s that? Is this an earthquake?”

“No. They are shockwaves,” Artemis said. “Balunercc is on a crash course for Aseria. The planets are now so close together that their forces are colliding. The end is close!”

“Well shit, certainly took the best time to start. How do we stop it?” Kuri shouted. Nobody answered. “Aw c’mon? Really guys?”

“It can be stopped with a crystal tower. Me and Diancie can create one together,” Artemis said. “But we cannot do it! The ability to create something that powerful was lent to Sophitia.”

“Sophitia?” Lute cried. The duo exchanged glances. “Can she stop it?”

“We must take that power back. It is now time for Sophitia to return to her own world,” Artemis said. The group went quiet.

“That’s what Diancie meant again, you know. About how it was inevitable that’d I’d have to go home. They need their powers back,” Sophitia said, smiling at him.

“But that’s… no, I can’t accept that!” Lute cried. “We made a promise. We said we were gonna try. We, we, we… you didn’t get to live.”

“Oh Lute, I did get to live,” she said, caressing his face with a feeler. He started crying, not taking his eyes off her.

“No you know what I mean! That’s not fair. We-we were supposed to all go home together. We’d tell Raiju and Cinder our stories… and then go to that island we saw out to sea. Together. Just us two,” he said, whimpering.

“Can’t you just like, team up with Diancie and Artemis instead? Why do you have to stop being a Pokémon, too?” Infia said.

“Even if I could, I think it’s a bit late for that,” she said, holding up a paw. It was surrounded by light that looked like it was eating away at her body. Her paw had vanished and the light was gradually going up her body. Lute’s breath was stolen. “That aura really tore this body up.”

“Then that means,” Phoenix said.

“C’mon now though. Is this really how you’re gonna let me see you all off? A bunch of crying man babies upset ‘cos they won’t get to see their favourite little fairy anymore? It’s really nice knowing I’m so important to you guys, but that’s not what I signed up for,” she said. “You as well, Kuri. Ain’t no room or time for edgy stuff now.”

“So what do you want? I don’t think offering you a drink’s gonna be worth anything now,” he said, bumping her with a fist.

“Kuri!” Lute cried.

“You promise you won’t forget us?” Phoenix said.

“Of course I won’t! And that’s the spirit, you two. But Kuri, I’m not actually old enough to drink yet… so I’ll just hold you to that until I am. And you better take care of me when I do. Take me to the best place in Angard,” she said.

He was a little surprised, and then snickered, tucking his arms behind his head. “Alright. What’d I sign up for this time?”

“Don’t go getting into too many fights, now,” Phoenix said.

“And you two. When you’ve got your big Esthia stage debut, I better be getting front row seats,” she said, turning to Esther and Infia.

“Fudge that! We’ll bring the show to you!” Esther said. “I dunno how, but we’re gonna do it. You just let us know where the best place to perform is, and we’ll make sure we’re the main act.”

“This isn’t a wild idea, either. We’ll find a way, I promise! We can make Esthia, we can make this happen, too,” Infia said loudly, blinking away tears. She couldn’t stop, and sniffled. “I’m sorry. I am gonna miss you. I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“Aww, thanks girls! I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sophitia said, giving them a slap with a feeler. She turned to Lute, who was still crying quietly. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t saying anything. Without long left, her hind legs and tail already vanishing before their eyes, she crouched down and began to whisper to him. “When you get back, I want you to make sure you tell your friends everything. Tell Raiju, Cinder, Azu, even Anbi and Athens. Tell them everything we’ve been through. Can you do that for me?”

“O-of course! Sophitia, don’t go!” he wailed. She waited until he quietened a bit before continuing.

“And then, it’s up to you to finish what you started, okay? Go and see Artemis and the others, and give them the best welcome ever. If you don’t, I’m gonna keep calling you a kid. Got it?” she said. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Lute jumped into her, hugging her as tightly as he could. “I love you so much.”

He didn’t reply. He couldn’t reply, still unable to stop the tears from flowing. That one phrase brought a smile to his face though, even after the lights took over her and she vanished in his arms. One moment her soft embrace was there, the next, he was stumbling forward a bit as he was no longer holding anything. He grabbed at the air a little bit in hopes of feeling even a trace of her, but there was nothing left. Not a fur, not tear. Nothing.

“The rest of you need to depart from the planet. Naivie, please guide the Pokémon back into the craters,” Artemis said. He looked at her. “I… I am counting on you.”

Her face brightened, and she flew up with an enthusiastic cheer. Just like that, she was flying out to address the crowd of Pokémon that had been watching the battle. It didn’t take long before they were obeying, gathering together and following her lead.

As for the others, Angel soon showed up with her peppy cry, scooping them all up. Artemis waited until they were far away before returning to his Mega Evolved form, where he took off into the sky at high speed.

Leaving Balunercc was as uncomfortable as it was going in, but the gravitational shift didn’t seem to last as long this time. Angel took them well away from the planet somewhere out in the middle of Aseria’s oceans, and then turned around to view the scene from afar. To them, the Balunercc was alarmingly close to the city, practically metres from touching. As a result, the shockwaves could be heard constantly, and powerful pulses of wind kept pushing the sea away from the point of impact.

Infia stood tall and pointed, noticing two gleaming lights swirling in between the two planets. One was pink and came from below, while the other was blue and came from above. The two lights swirled and danced around one another for a short while before combining, where they began to grow bigger and brighter.

It was Diancie and Artemis. They were both Mega Evolved and had linked hands, Diancie’s right with Artemis’ left. Together, crystals formed from their other palms, millions and millions of diamonds and crystals clustering together to form around them. It distorted the storm Balunercc had created around Pokétopia, and soon began to destroy the city itself.

Streams of gemstones sprouted up from the ground like the roots of a thick-vined plant, twirling and tangling together with the diamonds around them. The streams followed the mythical Pokémon and their orchestrated movements perfectly, soon taking visual form as a tree made entirely of rock. Its roots pierced and destroyed the city below, but its branches grew abundant and bright, opening out like a pair of delicate hands. Those branches wrapped around Balunercc flawlessly, literally catching the planet to stop it in place. That was not without a colossal boom shaking the whole world, a single soundwave that ended the shockwaves entirely. Clouds parted with the impact, but soon, all was completely silent.

Lute and the group had seen it all perfectly. Now, where there was once a city, there was a towering tree in the centre of Aseria. Adorned with craters and surrounded by an orbiting stream of glistening crystal shards, the tree proudly held and connected the two planets together. Minutes later, all had gone still besides the nature around them. Natural wind blew, the sea below had calm waves, and Angel’s wings had dull wooshing coming from them.

Lute stared at the tree with a sorrowful frown. He had no more tears to shed, only promises he wanted to keep. He gulped, sighed peacefully, and held the feather on his collar to his chest.

“Thank you.”


	38. Nymphina

“_I’m still here_…” Sophitia thought to herself. Or at least, that was what it felt like. She couldn’t tell where she was or what she was doing, just that her thoughts came aloud, echoing through whatever was her consciousness.

She shuffled, attempting to open her eyes. Everything had a warm, golden filter over it. Not that there was anything else around her as is. She was in a transparent orb made of the golden light that had taken away her Pokémon body, but beyond that was a strange void filled with stars and darkness. It looked like outer space, only prettier, warmer, and more fantastical.

“_Oh, right. I had to say goodbye to everyone. I’m going to go back to being a human, soon,_” she thought, closing her eyes again. “_I managed to make them all smile, I hope. But it was all so abrupt._”

She opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. The way the stars around her moved, it was as if she was slowly rising. She sighed, closing up again. “_It’s no use complaining about it now. But I hope they’re doing alright._”

A strange, elevating sound took her attention, and she opened up once more. She wasn’t expecting to find anything, but someone did show up. They had their own glowing orb, just like her. She made a sound and reached out, leaning back when that orb began to take form. It took the shape of a Floette, and then coloured in to reveal a Pokémon she knew. “_Floette? Is that really you?_”

“It is. I’m not supposed to be here, and nor are you supposed to be awake. But… something told me. Just by an extreme hunch, something told me to stop you here, on the border between worlds,” Floette said. She paused, and Sophitia didn’t say anything. “You are moments away from discarding everything and returning to your original human life. Your old memories, your old friends, your familiar world. Everything would be returned to you as if you had never been in our world.”

Another pause.

“And yet, I… do pardon me for making a great assumption here. But you have regrets, don’t you?” she said.

Sophitia made a sound.

“You don’t want to leave, do you?” she asked.

“_It’s not that I don’t want to leave. I have to, don’t I? That’s the way things have to be,_” Sophitia thought. Floette was the one hesitating, now. “_It’s best if Lute gets the chance to grow up, and find love in some other Pokémon. And where I came from, I’m sure I have so many people waiting for me. Who miss me, and are wondering where I am. I need to go to them, too._”

“You have regrets, but you have resolve. If I may say, you truly are the hero of Aseria,” Floette praised, putting her hands together.

Sophitia didn’t reply.

“… I will not waste any more of your time. I am here because I owe you one favour. In the names of Diancie and Artemis, we all owe you one great favour. To complete that, I would travel even here, to the border between worlds,” Floette said. “Once you cross, you will never be able to see anyone from this world ever again. This is the only chance we have to truly repay you.”

Sophitia remained quiet.

“Sophitia. You are leaving this world reluctantly, your heart full of regrets. If – and this is entirely hypothetical – but if there was some kind of way that you could perhaps… stay here, tell me… would you decide to stay?”

Sophitia felt herself shiver hard.

“I know what you’re thinking. Since your memories began to return and you learnt of your destiny, as a human who had been brought here by Diancie and Artemis, you have resigned yourself to the fate that you would have to leave this world abruptly. That is why it was so easy for you, and yet so painful at the same time. You always knew that this was inevitable, so you saved yourself the pain by never once considering if there was a way for you to stay,” Floette said. “So let me ask you once again. If there was a way in which you could stay, above all laws and forces, would you take it?”

Sophitia took a deep breath. “_I understand rules. More than anyone else, I understand rules. But I have precious friends here. Invaluable memories that I wouldn’t dare to forget. Despite knowing and understanding all that, I found love here. Love I would never act on._”

A moment of silence.

“_Floette. Is there a way I can come back?_”

Another moment of silence.

“_There isn’t, is there. Not without evoking sin._”

“There is. It is a dangerous proposition, but it is possible, particularly thanks to the permissions granted by the favour we owe you,” Floette said. “We can grant you the title of Diancie’s Champion, Nymphina.”

“_Nymphina_?”

“By becoming Nymphina, you will return and live as an ordinary coloured Sylveon. However, you will lose much. The forces of life will erase your existence from the human world. No one will ever know you existed there. You will also lose the powers granted to you by Diancie and Artemis – the shield and swords of crystal that you wielded so well. And lastly, as a champion that stands amongst us, you be duty-bound to protect the Pokémon world for the remainder of time, exactly as we mythical Pokémon do,” she explained. “This is the _only_ way that you can go back to them.”

“_Nymphina. I knew I had heard that name before. The title of a hero,_” Sophitia thought. “_Ironic, isn’t it? That to become a true hero in your world, I have to do the one thing I was told not to do, and defy the forces of life. I have to be totally selfish and leave everyone behind, everyone who cared about me in my original life. All just to see a boy again._”

There was a lengthy pause this time. Floette didn’t make a sound, holding her flower sideways. “Take as long as you need. This is your only chance to make this decision.”

Sophitia laughed this time. “_You knew the answer the moment you came here and teased me about it._”

“I was not testing you, I was speaking severely out of hand.”

“_But you don’t want me to leave either, do you?_” she thought. Floette didn’t reply. “_I only have one question about this._”

“Go on. I will answer any.”

“_I’ll stay as a human Pokémon, won’t I? Falling in love is out of the question, and mating would revoke my position immediately_,” she said.

“It remains as so. You will never be allowed to earnestly reciprocate the romantic feelings of any human or Pokémon ever again.”

“Well then. What’re you waiting for? Sign me up,” Sophitia whispered. Her eyes were gleaming.

“This is not a decision to be made lightly. Please, Sophitia you must—”

“I made my choice when I responded to the call of Pokémon and came to your world in the first place. I lived with you both, Diancie and Artemis, for many thousands of years and never broke those rules. And even when my memories were taken, I remained who I was. This where I want to be.”

“Floette. This is where I belong.”

…

The trip home had been a long one for Lute and company. Angel, being a Togekiss, caught every emotion the group was feeling, and responded in kind. She glided slowly in silence, keeping her altitude high so that they had a clear view of the world around them. They headed for Everend first, and by the time they arrived, the sun was setting.

The whole village came for their return, of course. Cheers and waves shook the air before the realisation that Sophitia wasn’t with them had hit, and the chatter diminished into respectful quiet. Still, Lute did as he was told and relayed his story to the Pokémon, and he did it all with a strong smile.

When all was said and done, it had been a very long day for the group. The agents helped to disband the crowd, while Infia offered her place for everyone to stay at since it was big enough for them all. For them, this was to be a celebratory rest before any sort of real party was thrown. With the comfortable summer chill coming on as night descended, they prepared to head inside and call it a night.

Lute held them back for a minute, though. He took in the view of the sunset sinking below the horizon, adoring the magical changing colours of the sky. After all, this was their trophy, the very thing they had been working towards ever since. He had forgotten what the sunset really looked like, so this was like experiencing it all over again.

Amongst the glistening stars and shades of black, orange, and navy, he caught sight of one golden glow that wasn’t fading or changing with it all. An orb of warm, glowing gold light that was slowly descending towards them. As soon as he saw it, he argued against his mind that he recognised it. He kept telling himself that this miracle wasn’t real, even as it landed before them and began to take shape. Only when it formed into Sophitia did he freeze up and stop thinking completely, stuck staring at her.

It was her in everything but her shiny colouration. Her round form, her spiky head fur, her confident pose mismatched with a caring, almost motherly smile. He wanted to believe it but couldn’t, blankly stepping forward without taking his eyes off her.

Sophitia had to take a moment to get where she was, but stared right back once she realised. She eventually took her own steps toward him, meeting him halfway, where her feelers lightly brushed him. “You’re wearing my collar.”

He gave his feather a tap. Finally, a smile burst from him, and he started laughing.

He laughed with gradually increasing happiness, and jumped right into her paws. She held him up with her feelers and started laughing as well, nuzzling her cheek into his. Like this, they twirled and hopped and danced, laughing until tears filled their eyes and they sounded as though they were crying. By then, Infia and the others had skipped forward to join them, and the group fell into one big cuddle.


	39. Bonus Episode: Weird and Proud

“So what you’re telling me is that it’s a sort of compromise between your original role and what you want to do now?” Lute said. He and Sophitia were walking back into town from the new school that was being built, taking the more scenic route that ran along the seaside. This coastal route was a little longer of a way home, but it was a great way to appreciate Aseria’s returned weather.

It was peaceful. Nothing but cool summer breezes and the sound of waves washing up over the rocks to their left, occasionally with Wingull and other water-loving birds chirping. He swayed his head and hummed with it all, refreshed by the salt in the air.

“It’s something like that. It’s better to think of it as like… I’m here to stay now. I just don’t have my shield or sword, and I look like a normal Sylveon,” she said, giving a happy sigh, too. “I’m technically Diancie’s champion, too. I’ll live for way longer than everyone else, and if something like Lassic ever happens again, I’ll be there to put a stop to it.”

“That’s so cool Sophitia! You’re like, a true heroine now and stuff,” Lute said, bouncing up and down with eyes gleaming.

“Oh you, always looking at the bright side. Don’t you think it’s kinda sad? You guys aren’t gonna be around forever, but I’m still gonna look the same. It’s like I don’t age anymore,” she said.

“Well it’ll be decades before that happens, won’t it? That’s plenty of time to enjoy having us around. And plenty of time for us to keep our promises to each other, too,” he said, dashing in front of her. His feather dangled out of place a bit, so he patted it back. “Plus, I have been thinking about that whole age thing, too. Since I’m a V-Pocket and I’m unaffected by the Ancient Flowers, does that mean I’ll live forever, too? I don’t think I’ve ever actually gotten taller or anything.”

That set her off giggling again. “Oh Lute, that’s because you’re an Eevee, silly. If you got any bigger, it’d be because you’re eating too much.”

“Is that really how it works?” he said, flat faced. “I’m sure loads of Pokémon still don’t take me seriously because I look like a kid. If getting bigger will do that, then I guess it’s the next thing to focus on.”

“Erm,” she said, eyes widened. “Okay. Where the heck did that one come from?”

“It’s been a thing since forever.”

“Lute, you’re not gonna get taller or something if you start eating more. You’ll just get… rounder. If anything, that’ll make you even cuter,” she said, giggling. “But you’re fine the way you are, you know? When it came right down to it, everyone we know took you very seriously. Even Kuri.”

“No he doesn’t, he only doesn’t talk down to me because of my powers,” he said, looking away. “And he can beat me anyway, so that doesn’t even matter.”

“You really think a guy like him would hang out with us if he didn’t have any respect for you? I mean, he’s still in Everend, but Gen’s in Angard, right? He has to like it here,” she said. “Seriously. It’s not like you to be worried about your appearance.”

“I’ve always been worried about it. I’ve just never had the time to,” he said. “You sure I won’t grow taller if I start eating more?”

“No, you’ll just end up looking like me! Do you really wanna look like me, all pudgy and bubbly?” she said, laughing as she prodded herself. His face went red and he looked away, grumbling to himself. “Come to think of it, how did I even maintain this look? I walked around as much as you did, but I still feel like a marshmallow. Not that I’m complaining.”

“What did you eat this morning?”

“The same thing as you: Marina’s waffles. She had those berry compote with them. Super good,” she said, drooling as she thought about it.

“… How many did you eat?” he said, going half lidded.

“Twenty-eight. Pretty sure that’s a new record, too!”

“It’s a miracle you maintain that look,” he said, rolling his eyes.

The homes of Everend had started to come into view, where it was clear there was some sort of commotion going on. A crowd of Pokémon were gathered in the town centre. The duo exchanged glances, nodded, and then took off.

It turned out to be a number of King’s Shield agents and Marina all discussing something, as well as a rambling crowd of locals. It was nothing violent or aggressive, but it was loud, so the duo pushed their way to the front.

“Mum, is everything alright?” Lute called out on top of everyone’s voices.

“Does it look like it’s—” she replied before she turned around, realising it was Lute. She was surprised, but rather than correcting herself, she and the other agents took a step aside to reveal what was between them. A large puddle of murky brown sludge, with Infia and Esther crouched by it.

“What’s… wait, is that what I think it is?” Lute gasped.

“Oh hiya Lute. You guys just missed a battle,” Esther said. “I thought those Risen things were done for good after Spirle went down, but one went and wandered over here.”

“Geez, if everybody alright? You two took it down?” Sophitia said.

“Yeah, it was only one of the lesser familiars. It’s nothing we can’t handle,” Infia said. “I just can’t work out why it was here.”

“I might be able to shed some light on that. In fact… Look, I know you guys just got back and stuff, but you might even be able to help us resolve this. How about you take on a mission for us?” Marina said.

“A mission? For King’s Shield, you mean? I don’t actually mind, but,” Lute said, looking at Sophitia. She shrugged.

“It’s kinda my lifelong job now, so why not?” she said.

“Meet me at the house,” Marina said, walking off. She tossed an orb to one of the agents and they barely caught it, surprised by her abruptness.

…

When Sophitia returned, everyone had decided to stay at Infia’s house – the one originally owned by Victoria. Being basically a mansion, it was the perfect place to wind down and relax, while doubling as a proper base for Sophitia’s group. A lot of work needed to be done to it in changing Victoria’s self-centred décor, or getting rid of the V-Wave tech still inside, but it was roomy enough.

Marina had everyone gathered in the main room just like she did in the past, only there weren’t any agents around this time. Without all the computers and security too, Lute wasn’t surprised to see everyone taking it easy anyway. It looked less like a work meeting and more like a casual family gathering.

“When the temples activated and Balunercc appeared, there was a lot more that changed about Aseria. Well, things began to change, anyway,” Marina began. “With all the extra light and wind, King Shield’s been able to send out mid-air scouts that can fly all over the world. They’ve reported seeing some new terrain that was never there before. Ocean currents moving to unveil previously underwater islands, regions of fog clearing up to make their lands traversable, things like that.”

“Mystery dungeons,” Lute said. Marina nodded. “_I’m guessing that underwater forest me and Sophitia found might be something, too._”

“The main thing we were doing was cleaning up the rest of Spirle’s mess. Taking care of their old bases, detaining the random criminals they have, that kind of thing. Risen showed up occasionally, but since Balunercc appeared, apparently the Risen have been gathering in one location,” Marina said. “It’s a new island between Obire and Pokétopia. Some mass gathering of Risen that’s too dangerous for our air scouts to approach.”

“If it’s too dangerous for them, what makes you think we can handle it?” Esther said. Everyone looked at her. “I’m not sayin’ I don’t wanna go, it just seems kinda convenient, y’know?”

“Our scouts aren’t fighters, so without gondolas or teleportals, our fighters can’t get there. But you guys have Angel,” she said.

“I’ll pass. I already have my hands full remodelling this place for ya,” Kuri said, leaning against the wall. “If you guys all go out for the day, me and Phoenix can get a lot done.”

“Of course. You’re not obligated to. But if there is something major going on with those Risen, don’t come crying to us, okay?” Marina said.

“That’s fair. Then I won’t,” he replied.

“Suit yourself. Thank you for understanding.”

“You’re welcome.”

“A pleasure discussing business with you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”

“… For the record, I do not mind either way,” Phoenix said, coming between them.

“I guess we should go now. We’re not doing anything else today,” Sophitia said. “This could get dicey though, so you girls make sure you’ve got everything you need.”

“You say that like we didn’t have any plans today,” Infia said, rubbing her face. She left the room to go and get ready anyway, Esther skipping not far behind her.

Lute was given his usual fretting from Marina, but it didn’t take too long for the group to get ready. A few minutes of running through supplies they had in a storeroom and he was all prepped, meeting Sophitia outside, soon followed by Esther and Infia. Sophitia promptly called Angel, and then they were on their way.

The first thing Lute noticed was how right Marina was when it came to Aseria changing. Originally, there were only five islands in the compass directions, with Pokétopia taking up a enormous central region. But now, Pokétopia was gone, replaced by the giant crystal tree that held up Balunercc. It cast a cybernetic shadow over much of that region, a disturbing change from the grassy prairie of the central region into the stony, gemstone lands surrounding the tree. His face tensed at the clear sight of it. He would have to go back there to face Artemis again, soon.

But that wasn’t why he was here in the sky again. Where there would normally be giant stretches of ocean between the islands, it was now dotted with archipelagos. Islands of all different shapes, sizes, and heights, and all with different terrain, too. Many were green, but he could still make out deserts, mountains, and even one that had a volcano on it. Amongst it all was the island that had been described to them, a larger, circular island surrounded by risen sludge.

“Yuck. It’s like a bunch of Snorlax decided to take an almighty dump at the same time,” Sophitia said. Angel made a noise and descended, spiralling toward the ground. As they got closer, they managed to make out more on the direct surface. A huge group of Risen were gathered by a sandy edge of the island, but they were in battle. A Flamethrower just about missed Angel, getting a cry of surprise.

“Guys, hold on!” Esther cried out.

“Wait no, look! Someone’s there fighting them,” Infia said, pointing. The others gasped upon noticing a couple of Pokémon surrounded by the Risen, and it was their attacks that were causing crossfire.

“Go towards them, Angel,” Sophitia said. Angel gave another cry and obeyed, intentionally swooping over the battle to whip up a strong tailwind. The two Pokémon saw her coming and clutched the ground appropriately, but the Risen were blown over to one side. Lute and company jumped off at that time, firing their attacks at the floored enemies to keep them down.

“Infia, Rain Dance please,” Esther said.

“Already on it,” she said, releasing her prayer into the sky. A small bundle of dark clouds surrounded the group, and soon enough, it was raining hard. The Risen were set off groaning and roaring, many being diluted back into sludgy puddles while others slid away deeper into the island. Lute and the others watched them, keeping their focus on the two Pokémon.

“Ra-rain? Why did it have to be rain?” screamed a chubby Cyndaquil. She hopped up started dancing on her toes, squealing and moaning aloud.

“Calm down, it’s only a little water! It’s not going to kill you,” the other Pokémon cried on top of her. He tried to pull her back to the floor, but she ripped away from him.

“Don’t touch me! Nobody gave you permission to do that.”

“I’m only trying to- forget it. Look, the water is melting those monsters. We’re safe,” he said.

Lute stopped, unable to recognise this one’s species. The Pokémon was about Infia’s height, with a round, turquoise body. His head had white fur on it, more than it looked like he was able to deal with. It had been styled into something of a curly mess, and there was still enough to half-hide his dark blue, triangular ears. A scalchop rested on his belly, and was probably his most defining feature besides his posh, young adult voice.

“Oh how gentlemanly. You’re telling a _fire type_ to just, chill out in the rain. Wonderful, I _totally_ want to do that,” Cyndaquil said.

“Ugh, I’d take it over continuing to fight those things,” the other Pokémon said, noticing Lute and the others. “That rain was sudden. By any chance, was that you?”

Sophitia put her feelers in front of her group, stepping forward. “That was. We’ve dealt with those things before.”

“Couldn’t you have accounted for me and chosen a better way? I’m soaked! And I’m still getting soaked!” Cyndaquil cried, even though the rain was beginning to ease up. She had a glowing necklace around her neck that freely dangled with her movements.

“I think they’re a rescue team. No need to be so ungrateful,” the Pokémon said.

“Hey, _you’re_ not the leader here. Just remember, _I’m_ the one who had to bust my butt of and rescue you, so don’t start trying to act smart,” Cyndaquil said, turning to Lute. She stormed toward him, stopping a few paces away. “And Angel, what the heck is going on? Where are we, and what’re you doing with this random lot? I thought you were back with the Shining Warrior’s sword?”

“Um, excuse me,” Sophitia said, not expecting to be ignored like so. Angel barely reacted, cocking her head.

“What?”

“Who are you? Why were you getting attacked by the Risen?” Sophitia said.

“That’s my question. But if Angel thinks you’re so important, then you must know who I am. So out with it! What’s the big idea? Don’t keep us in the dark!” Cyndaquil said. Angel didn’t answer, staring at her with her usual peppy smile. Cyndaquil started sweating, and scratched her face. “Um… is everything okay? What’s with the silence?”

“We don’t know where we are or why those things attacked us, I’m afraid. Well, I don’t know why they attacked me,” the other Pokémon said, standing beside her. “I am Prince Leos Aska, son of Prince Rune and Queen Ariala of Eris and Faernia.”

“Oh so you’re royalty. No wonder you think you’re a big cheese,” Cyndaquil said.

“I was scouting a dungeon with a few friends, but I must have triggered a trap of some sort. First thing I saw was a big, blinding light. The next thing I know, I’m falling into the polluted water over there. I swam over here, and then those monstrosities started attacking me,” Leos said, a hand on his chest. “I’m not much of a fighter due to health reasons, but this young lady helped me. And then your group arrived.”

“’Scuse me but, what Pokémon even are you? You’re kinda cute, but I’ve never seen you before,” Esther said.

“Wait a second, Esther too? What the hell’s going on?” Cyndaquil cried, stomping over to the Pikachu. “Stop playing around! The hell’s going on here?”

“Sorry, you’ve gotta be mistaken. If you’re a fan, I’ve _never _met ya before.”

“Yes you have. You hit on Shelly and everything. Stop pretending you don’t know us!” she raised her voice.

“Seriously, I’ve never seen that Pokémon or you before in my life. Considering how rude you are, I probably have no reason to remember, too,” Esther said, paws on her hips. Cyndaquil grabbed her head again.

“I’m not going nuts here. I can’t be going nuts. Nope, na-uh, we’re not playing this game,” she said. To everyone’s surprise, she opened her eyes wide, revealing their beautiful blue colour. Everyone gasped and shifted away, even Leos.

“It’s me, Megan! The weird fat kid with the open eyes. I _know_ you’ve seen me before, and if you still don’t remember, then I’m outta here. I’m not playing you and Angel’s stupid little game,” Megan said. No one could close their mouths, and she realised. She slowly shifted away, and then her face started to go red. “O-oh… oh gods, y-you really don’t recognise me? Like, at all?”

“Th-this is the first time we’ve met. But that’s like, holy moly that’s so awesome!” Esther cheered.

“Pardon me back there. I’ve never seen a Cyndaquil with open eyes before. Th-that took me by surprise,” Sophitia said.

“Nor have I. That’s incredible, are you perhaps some kind of hybrid?” Leos gasped. Megan moaned a bit, scrunching up to close her eyes again.

“Urgh, forget it! I have to be in some kinda illusion, but I hate it. I want out!” she cried. “Please stop staring at me!”

“Aww, she’s shy now,” Esther said, paws together.

“Ahem. To answer your original question, I am an Oshawott,” Leos said, putting everyone in shock again. “There are some technical things about it, though. Biologically speaking, I am a hybrid of an Oshawott and a Clefable, so many of my abilities are underdeveloped. Your rescue was greatly appreciated.”

“An Oshawott? For real?” Infia screeched.

Leos raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Is there something special about that?”

Lute and Infia exchanged glances, and then Lute leapt forward. “This is unbelievable! An Oshawott showed up, and a male one, at that. They weren’t extinct after all!”

“Extinct?” Leos said.

“Oshawott don’t exist, they were supposed to be extinct. They’re spoken of in history books and stuff. I-I never thought I’d get to meet a real one,” Infia said. “Pardon me, I’m so sorry for getting excited. I just, this is really, really incredible. Have you been living underwater all this time? Are there more of you? I would love to meet you all.”

“Infia? Brave enough to meet others? Whoa, you’re really excited about this stuff,” Esther said, snickering.

“Alarming. And a lot more of a predicament than I anticipated,” Leos said, folding his arms and rubbing his chin. “Oshawott being extinct. A girl meeting Pokémon she believes she should know. And a Cyndaquil with open eyes, no less. As absurd as it sounds, I feel like I’ve stepped into another world.”

“Another world?” Megan said.

“Well, you as well, actually. It’s very sudden and it makes no sense, but if these Pokémon aren’t lying, then there’s a lot to learn. It’s time to study,” Leos said, smacking one hand on top of the other. “Might I ask what your names are? And if we might be able to settle down and regain our bearings?”

“Hmm. I’m Sophitia, and these are my friends. We’re a team of sorts,” Sophitia said.

“I’m Lute. Nice to meet you,” Lute smiled and nodded.

“You recognised me as Esther already, but this is my girlfriend, Infia,” Esther said, while Infia gave a little wave.

“Girlfriend… wait, shoot! I can’t suddenly be in another world. I have a boyfriend to get back to! And he’s useless on his own. Grr no, I’ve just gotta be dreaming,” Megan cried. “Angel please stop playing around if you’re playing. It’s not funny anymore. You’re the only giant Togekiss in the whole world, right?”

Angel finally stopped tilting her head, but she never lost her dopey smile. She barely moved, but after a moment, a voice began to speak into everyone’s minds. “_Do you really know a giant Togekiss called Angel?_”

“Wah, it’s telepathy!” Megan cried.

“Angel… you can talk?” Sophitia said, laughing a little.

“Er… y-yeah, I’ve been journeying with a giant Togekiss for a while. Really big girl, loves some guy called Theria,” Megan said, rubbing her face.

“_We ancient Togekiss are a special breed. To know one tells me that you are a legendary hero. But I am afraid that the Angel that you know and the Angel that is me are two different Pokémon,_” Angel said. Her voice was expectedly serene and calming. “_We Angel are servants and guides to legends and fate. If the two of you have found yourselves here from other worlds, then perhaps your powers are required here._”

“I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I was thinking something of the sort. I do have to wonder why me, though. I’m not exactly powerful on my own,” Leos said.

“I’m more surprised to hear Angel talking. I’m sorry, I didn’t think you could,” Infia.

“Yeah! You’re always so quiet and happy. Like some kinda tamed feral Pokémon,” Esther said. Angel’s voice giggled.

“_I prefer to keep quiet. My words or comments offer not much in the way of guidance, besides the things you already know. I hope I have cleared up the confusion about there being two Angels, though,_” she said.

“I really am in another world,” Megan whispered.

“It seems so. But that puts us as emissaries to whatever conflict ails this world. I imagine if we deal with that, we can return to our own,” Leos said. “It’s unrealistic to think so, but I hope this can be dealt with soon. Prem and Griselle are going to kill themselves with worry.”

“Yeah. Uh, excuse me a min’,” Megan said, walking away. The group watched her walk off toward the sea, and then collectively freaked out when she dove in, leaving nothing behind but a wake of bubbles.

“U-um, what is she? Somebody get her outta there!” Lute cried. Sophitia was the first to react, followed by Leos. Megan hadn’t sunk far, but she was screaming and ranting about something beneath the surface, having all her curses and rants come out as muffled bubbling instead. She fought with them for a little while, and then gave in once she realised that two of them had come down to grab her.

“Are you alright? What’re you thinking?” Sophitia cried once they were back on land. Megan sat back with a miserable frown, cheeks puffed and grumbling. To her surprise, the Cyndaquil didn’t look like she was catching her breath or anything. “Wait, you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I guess I’m okay. Just, ugh,” she said, getting up. “Alright, fine. If that’s what I’ve gotta do, then I’ll do it. Where do we go to deal with your little crisis?”

“I think she means in regards to the water. You were so upset about the rain earlier, then you went and dunked yourself into the sea,” Leos said, smiling weirdly.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m Watermarked, I’m sorta in tune with water and stuff,” she said. “I can’t breathe underwater or anything, but I can hold my breath really long and talk underwater and… it’s kinda long and weird to explain, so just think of me as part water type.”

“You as well? Sophitia can talk underwater, too,” Lute said, cocking his head. “You’re going to have to teach me how you do that, you know.”

“Hmm? You’re a Watermarked Sylveon?” Megan said.

“No, I’ve never heard that term before. I just have… features. Ahem. But more importantly,” Sophitia said, turning to the scenery. The island before them boasted nothing but wide open hills leading into a dense forest. “The Risen went over that way. If you guys are here to help us out, I imagine we’ll find what we’re looking for in there.”

“You guys lead the way. As much as I hate that,” Megan said. Lute and Sophitia exchanged glances and shrugged, and then they were on their way. Angel departed too, but only to the airspace above the island.

The group walked quickly and kept close together, though they kept a formation that had Lute and Sophitia at the front. The duo appeared totally focused on what was directly ahead of them, making short work of the little humps and potholes that were all over the ground. On the other hand, Infia was having to hop and climb some of them, requiring Esther to slow down for her and help. Megan watched the duo with interest and a frown, while Leos seemed curious more than anything.

“You seem like something’s really bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?” Infia said, huffing as she climbed up another step. Everybody else could easily jump right up it.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not important,” Megan said.

“Oh come on. It is if you’re dunking yourself in the ocean over it. Even I’m not that wild,” Esther said. “And I’m pretty _wild_.”

“Please don’t ask her what she means,” Infia said quickly.

“We just met. I’m not about to dump all my problems on you. And besides, you’re just a kid. You probably wouldn’t understand anyway,” Megan said.

“I’m sixteen,” Infia said, laughing lightly. Megan froze.

“Wait, for real? But… uh, er, you’re wearing, um—”

“A nappy, I know. It’s a physical condition,” she said, half-lidded. Megan opened her eyes. “A bit like those eyes of yours.”

“I… something like that’s real? A-actually, don’t tell me. It’s probably TMI,” Megan said, rubbing her face to hide her eyes.

“That’s a neat observation, though. Me and you both have conditions and wound up here with other Pokémon who have conditions or special abilities. The more I learn, the more it seems like we really are all brought together for a reason,” Leos said.

“But you can’t fight, right? What good could you be in this situation?” Megan said.

“I have techniques and powers, they just aren’t convenient for the situation you found me in. If we get surrounded by those monsters again, I’m going to have to ask for your help,” he said, folding his arms. He had to quickly unfurl to use them to help climb the hill, unbothered by its steep angle.

“So er, I’m not gonna ask about the condition, but… you don’t think you should cover that up or anything?” Megan said.

“It’s not bothering you, is it?” Infia said, stopping. Megan climbed past her.

“You’re wearing a tutu. It’s basically on show! Wouldn’t it be better if nobody could see it at least?”

“That’s inconvenient to me. A tutu is easier to move around in. It helps on days like these.”

“Yeah but it’s… you might as well not wear clothes at all if you’re an adventurer, save for an accessory. I totally get that you’ve gotta wear it, but you’re also wearing stuff that draws eyes to it, ya’know?” Megan said, hopping over the edge at the top of the hill. The others were waiting for them. “The Esther from my world was the same. Wore panties for some reason.”

“Hey this is kinda rich comin’ from someone with a belly so big they can’t see their own feet. Pokémon can wear what they want. It’s not like it’s offending anyone,” Esther said, helping to pull Infia up. “Is it offending you? Do you get mad every time you see something wearing a nappy? Nappyphobia?”

“Hey hey I don’t mean to be rude or anythin’, honest. I just… don’t get it,” Megan said. “And it’s not my fault I’m this big, ‘kay? Comes with being Watermarked.”

“Yeah, _sure_ it does,” Esther said, folding her arms and looking away. “Then you’re gonna tell me you have big round bones.”

“Esther,” Infia said, holding out a paw. The Pikachu didn’t respond right away, but moaned a little.

“You sure?” she said. Infia nodded, and she groaned again. The duo linked paws and rubbed cheeks, promptly fusing into Esthia.

“Wait a sec, what is- what the?” Megan squeaked.

“Wooo, okay. Let’s see what we’ve got here, shall we?” Esthia said, landing with a peppy spin. She leaned ahead and scouted, humming to herself. “Huh. I really got called out for this?”

“Wa-wait a minute, is nobody gonna question this? Am I going nuts?” Megan cried, glancing back and forth. “Those girls, they really just… what are you?”

“It’s a hybrid of the next level. They physically fused,” Leos gaped.

“You guys aren’t fighting, are you? That’s normally what I get called for,” Esthia said, scratching her face. Megan started growling at everyone’s casual reaction, flaring her back.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me. Somethin’s really not right here,” she said.

“What is it? The fact that you’re mad for no reason, or the Risen that’s sneaking up on ya?” Esthia said, pointing.

“This whole thing’s weird. The lot of you are weird. Even their fusion is weird. Heck, the fact that they can fuse is weird. And they’re still wearing a nappy!” Megan cried. She flinched when Esthia shot out a ball of electricity from the palm of her paw, just about missing the Cyndaquil by a few furs. The attack hit not far behind, earning the groan of a Risen. “What the?”

“They’re all over the island. Good eyes, Esthia,” Lute said, turning around. Sophitia had his back, facing the trees in the opposite direction. There were groups of Risen emerging from the woodland ahead, but not nearly as many as was on the beach before.

“So they headed further into the island. There’s probably way more where that came from,” Sophitia said, posing with her feelers.

“Um, Sophitia? No sword and shield, remember?” he said, and she cringed, blushing at him.

“I remember I remember! It’s all special attacks from here, huh?” she said, laughing.

“How can you guys laugh? Like, what even are those things? They’re not Pokémon, that’s for damn sure!” Megan cried while everyone else prepared for battle. “Stop ignoring me, this is serious! This is literally some kinda messed up dream or something.”

“Are you still talking? I think we ought to pay attention,” Leos said, twirling his scalchop in his hands. He formed a double-sided Razor Shell with it, holding the weapon like a staff.

“Don’t tell me to stop talking. I’m losing my mind here. My stomach hurts, my head’s gonna explode and—” she said, going quiet when she realised that no one was paying her any mind. She growled and opened her eyes, shoving Lute and Sophitia aside. “Alright just get outta the way, I’ll handle this.”

“There’s a lot of them. Be careful,” Lute said, holding a paw out.

“Shut up!” she cried. She glared at the Risen slinking through the trees with what could only be described as obsessive focus, shifting side to side while her head darted back and forth. She had positioned herself to take the enemy horde head on, and almost as if they had acknowledged that, the Risen let out roaring cries and came charging.

The moment they sped towards her, clumping together into one blurry crowd of goop, Megan planted her feet and flared her back harder than before. She breathed in deeply, rearing back as she did so, and then exhaled a powerful streak of fire larger than herself. She was shooting a wave of searing flames from her mouth, engulfing the crowd of Risen in an explosion from where her attack hit the ground. The others were pushed back a bit from her output, shielding themselves from the intense heat wave they felt from the flames on her back.

“Did that do it?” Sophitia said, watching the cloud of smoke in disbelief.

“Of course that did. No one ever survives my Overheat,” Megan said, standing tall. The others still stared in silence, even more surprised to find that her flames didn’t linger despite hitting the grassy ground. No enemies were left, only their sludge.

“That attack was even stronger than Phoenix. And it left behind no debris,” Sophitia said, turning back to Megan. “Hmm. Looks like you’re more than a moany kid after all.”

“Me? Wait, _I’m_ the moany kid?” she squeaked.

“Is it just me or did that attack deflate her tummy, too?” Esthia said, half lidded and rubbing her chin.

Megan flinched and looked down at herself, turning away. “I-it’s just your imagination.”

“Na-uh, I’m pretty sure. You’re still kinda chunky and cute, but you’re definitely smaller!” she said, pointing. Megan grumbled.

“I’m even more curious, now. What’s Watermarked? Does it have something to do with what just happened?” Leos asked. He took note of Lute and the others continuing their trek into the forest, and followed slowly.

“It’s super weird, okay? Never mind it. It’s long to explain, too. If you guys are gonna go with the flow and ignore all your weird stuff, then you should ignore my weird stuff, too,” Megan said.

“Oh I think I get why the girls called me, now. You said stuff about Infia’s nappy, didn’t you?” Esthia said in a sing-song tone. Megan made a face, setting off Esthia’s giggling. “Yep. See, they’re not the best with that stuff yet. But lemme ask you. You’re still going on, getting as powerful as you just showed us, despite having a weight you can’t control, right?”

“Wha-what kinda question is that? I can control my weight just fine. I just… haven’t gotten the chance to exercise properly. Yeah, that’s it.”

“Therefore, you face comments about your belly every single time you meet somebody new. Or if they’re not questioning you on it, they’re looking at you funny, or they’re expecting you to order a hundred plates at a restaurant or something,” Esthia said, tucking her paws behind her head. “Ew, why do you wear a nappy? Isn’t that for babies? You didn’t graduate from pull-ups? It’s so easy to go to the bathroom. Ya’know, the usual comments.”

Megan went quiet, while Leos slowed down.

“I’m sure all of us know that stuff. Like, just how hard it is to keep going and doing the stuff you wanna do in life, knowing that _everybody_ you ever meet is gonna ask those questions. And most of them don’t mean it, really. But it gets super embarrassing either way,” she said. “But at some point, you just gotta embrace it and keep on living. Get on with what we all wanna do in whatever ways we can.”

“Alright I get it, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to make her feel awkward and stuff,” Megan said, turning away.

“Infia wants to be a cheerleader and a dancer, and that means wearing all kindsa dancer clothing. Ballet tutus are one of those things. Judging by how strong you are, I bet you wanna be a powerful fighter or something, too,” Esthia said. “Now the way I see it, it isn’t that you should get used to other Pokémon poking fun at your stomach. Other Pokémon need to know and get used to you looking the way you do. It’s not your fault after all, right?”

Megan went quiet again, but she did slow down to rub her belly. Just her light touch and it wobbled like a plate of jelly, bringing another blush to her face.

“Somehow being proud of yourself even though we’re weird, huh?” Leos said. “I only did all the stuff I had to do ‘cos I had no choice. I can’t imagine living normally as myself.”

“Grr, I get it, I get it already. I didn’t come here to think about this crap,” Megan said, grabbing her head.

“Pretty sure we didn’t come here wilfully at all,” Leos said.

“Exactly! So stop getting all wizardy on me. We were brought here to beat stuff up, so let’s find the stuff we’re meant to beat up already!”

“Guys, everything alright?” Lute called back, making the trio pay attention. There was a gap between the group, so they jogged to catch up.

Turns out Lute and Sophitia had stopped at top of the forested hill, where they were looking down at a gorge in the middle. The woodland stopped dead here, completely replaced by red hues, scattering embers, and a rigid rock. The gorge ran deep, but was rendered in shadow by the unusual way the trees leaned over the cliff, keeping it covered by leaves from miles in the sky.

The majority of the gorge was taken up by an old-styled castle. Perfectly cuboid blocks of stone were layered together to build up this mighty fortress, which seemed to be belching out an endless wave of heat and embers from a fire raging deep within. Just looking at it brought up a sickening lump that could only be kept down thanks to the horrible heat in the area.

“What’s this?” Sophitia said, fangs showing in disgust. “There’s no way this was below the ocean.”

“But could someone have built it all in like, the three days the ocean started changing? I have a really bad feeling about this,” Lute said.

“Guys, check this out,” Esthia called from a distance. She was by a path that looked like it sloped its way down to the castle. “The Risen are going inside. So that’s our destination.”

“Just what I didn’t want to hear,” he said, hanging his head.

“What do you mean? This is exactly the adventure we wanted,” Sophitia said, curling her feelers.

“I don’t know. Just looking at this place gives me a really bad feeling,” he said, looking down at the Risen. They looked like insects from this distance, a fidgety swarm of murky brown that brought him to cringe. He shivered hard. “Why are they gathering here?”

“I got a better question,” Esthia said. Everyone turned to her. “If the Risen get washed away by Rain Dance, how did they even make it here?”

There was complete silence for a long moment, and then Sophitia raised a feeler. “Esthia darling, some questions are best left unanswered. Let’s get a move on.”

“Not the worst dungeon I’ve had the misfortune of having to visit,” Leos said.

The path leading to the entrance was a lot longer and maze-like than anticipated, as it curled back into the forest and through a few mountain paths before heading straight to the castle moat. The group had to stop and hide behind a few boulders to avoid detection, where they had a good view of activities going on within.

Now that they were close, the heat was almost unbearable. Embers constantly stung and singed the group, eating away at the rickety excuse for a moat bridge. The army of Risen didn’t seemed to be affected by any of it though, slowly sliding into the castle like Magcargo in a constant stream of lava. They barely made a sound, and from their slumped posture, it was almost as though they were being hypnotised.

“They’re disgusting. These things really run rampant in your world?” Megan world.

“Not really. It’s a long story, but we had a dictator that was cultivating them.” Sophitia said.

“That’s what’s irking me,” Lute said, looking away. “All of these things were once ordinary Pokémon. And even after the many that we and King’s Shield took care of, look how many are here. Just how many lives was Lassic responsible for taking?”

“The best thing we can do is put those lives at ease. If someone’s trying to harness the power of these Risen, then we need to put a stop to that twisted legacy once and for all,” Sophitia said. She stepped out in the open. “Doesn’t look like there’s an alternate path at all, so we’re—”

“Stop, what’re you doing?” Leos hissed, pulling her back into hiding. “We’re more than likely taking on a powerful enemy we do not know much about. If we’re to take this on, we do it with a strategy.”

“You never heard of offense is the best defence?” Megan said.

“Of course I have. But taking on a seemingly endless army of those monsters sounds foolish, even for powers like yours. I’m coming up with a plan, just give me a few more minutes,” he said. He climbed up the wall beside them, looking out over the top. “Do any of you have some form of grapple hook?”

“I guess we technically have one,” Esthia said, revealing her baton. “I’ve never used it as a proper hook, though.”

“We can sneak into the castle from here if we can swing or tightrope across the gorge. From there, we can continue to sneak and address the situation, likely taking our foe by surprise. We’ll strike them with a critical hit,” he said.

“Yeah I don’t think my baton’s gonna work that way. Neither is Electroweb,” Esthia said, half lidded. She whipped her baton anyway, revealing its flashing blue crackling and shimmering strand. She revealed a second baton that had the same kind of ribbon, but red.

“Why are they so fancy?” Leos said, slumping.

“I’m a showgirl! Gotta have fancy shit. They’re not exactly built for holding up all you guys, though,” she said, making them vanish.

“Then what do we do? We need to get across without them seeing us somehow,” he said, going back to thinking.

“You sure? They don’t seem to notice me,” Sophitia said.

“Sophitia!” the group hissed, finding her stood out in plain sight. Despite being right next to the line of them, they were completely ignoring her. The group slowed to a halt, and then warily joined her.

“Yeah I think these ones are brainwashed or something. We can just slip right in amongst them,” she said, looking back. “Oh and by the way. Leos, remember that you’re not the leader, here.”

“You got told already,” Megan said while he laughed awkwardly.

“I… just thought… a strategy would be best,” he said. Sophitia went half-lidded. “Okay okay. I got it. I’m following.

They had to wait until there was enough of a space between the Risen for them to slip in without disturbing them, and the moment they did, there was total regret. Lute was small enough to be totally invisible between them, and cringed with every step he took. Everything around him was cold, damp, and soggy, as if he was walking through a swamp of waterlogged, melted clothing. The sloppy noises coming from them all weren’t helping, either. To his surprise, Esthia’s laughing brought him to pay attention.

“What the hell is so funny?” Megan cried, her fur stood on end.

“This is super fun, that’s what!” she cheered, hugged up super close to some of them.

“How is this fun? It’s gross!” Leos cried. “I don’t know what I was expecting. And they leave sludge with every step, it’s all over my feet and—”

“Silly boys, that’s the best part! We’re about to get down and dirty here,”

“Wha… seriously? Wears nappies, can fuse, and now likes getting muddy? The hell kinda Pikachu are you?” Megan cried.

“You’re better off not arguing with her,” Sophitia said with a sigh.

The group collectively went quiet once they made it into the fortress, where the Risen all gathered around a large hole in the centre of the room. This fortress was a singular room with a pit in the centre where all the Risen seemed to be jumping in. The group scuttled off to a corner once they realised this, and searching for any other clues.

“Not what I was expecting. They’re killing themselves?” Megan said.

“I _really_ don’t like the look of this now,” Lute said, stretching his feet out. The room began to darken and the Risen came to a stop, a few of them groaning quietly as their heads turned upwards. Lute instinctively followed their gaze, expecting to see something descend in the centre of the room.

“Well now. This is an interesting surprise,” a voice echoed from afar. “I was already infuriated by how long this plan was taking to work, but I didn’t think it would take so long that you heroes could find your way here.”

“Who are you? And what’re you doing with all these Risen?” Sophitia said.

“Are you really asking those questions and expecting honest answers?” the voice replied. Sophitia frowned. “Well then. I guess today is your lucky day. For the first time, I’m going to play along and actually do just that.”

A single light shone down from above, fitting the diameter of the pit perfectly. From above, a very small Pokémon began to descend, soon clear enough to be recognised as a Klefki. He was sparkling with shininess and his keys were floating around him rather than being on his keyring.

“Tetralocke,” Lute said quietly.

“Good. So you know him,” Leos said, folding his arms. “Quick. How did you defeat him in the past?”

“We didn’t. He has infinite restorative powers. Any damage he takes, even if it dismantles him, he heals it effortlessly,” Sophitia said. It took a second for the fact to settle in.

“What?” Leos choked, shifting back. “That’s impossible. He’s got to have a weakness.”

“You know, it’s rude to talk over Pokémon, especially when you’ve asked them a question. I said I would answer, and you didn’t even wait for an answer!” Tetra said, shaking. “If you don’t want one, then keep talking, I guess. We can do this whichever way you want.”

The group stayed quiet.

“Good. You children know your place. Now sit tight and listen well, because it’s a long one,” he said, sharpening a key. He flinched aside a Flamethrower, eyes widened.

“Don’t push your luck, kid. Your voice is annoying, so get to the good parts,” Megan shouted.

“Oh my, what’s this? I didn’t see you there. You got new teammates. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway. As long as you’re all inferior, ordinary Pokémon, you can’t stop me,” Tetra said, going back to sharpening his key. “So you know how Lassic’s been the head of Spirle for like, twenty odd years? Made a lot of Risen in that time and his only idea to getting rid of them all was dumping them in the ocean.”

“Yeah, about that. Don’t Risen die in water? Rain Dance gets rid of them,” Esthia said.

“Oh you poor peasant. Water doesn’t get rid of Risen. It’s true, their bodies aren’t solid enough to stay standing when they get wet. But they still function perfectly, even when underwater. Twenty years’ worth of Risen incubating in the ocean mean that there’s a colossal army beyond our imagination just waiting to be unleashed. All these Risen here are a fraction of what’s at my disposal! I had hoped to get all of them for this, but that might take years before they all gathered here in my Deadly Pot,” Tetra said.

“You’re going to take over the world with an army of Risen?” Sophitia said. That set off Tetra’s laughing, angering her.

“Heck no! I would never succeed. These things are far too weak and worthless on their own. Even pathetic ordinary Pokémon like yourselves can take them down,” he said, freezing. He came down to just above their height, glaring down at the group. With the light above him and the shadow below, he just about appeared intimidating. “It was you who gave me the idea, you know. Who reminded me of what Risen are capable of. The one way they can actually be strong on their own.”

“What?” Lute whispered while the others glanced around in confusion.

“Oh gods, he means fusion. Right, Risen can fuse together, and that- oh gods, you wouldn’t!” Esthia cried, flinching back hard.

“Oh baby I would. On my personal island, the Deadly Pot, I’ve been drawing all the Risen to this spot. And I am going to combine them all into a big thing that can crush the whole world with a pinch of its little fingers,” he said. He turned around. “But that would be boring. Being unkillable, it’s just boring watching that happen. Especially since I don’t really have control over the thing. But that’s when I remembered, I’m part Risen, too!”

“You’re part Risen?” Lute said.

“Every single V-Wave boosted Pokémon Spirle ever created is capable of degrading into a Risen. I wouldn’t be surprised if even Lute is capable. They degrade without noticing it, almost like a machine that rusts until it’s unusable,” he said. Lute looked at the ground, thinking hard. “But my point is, that means I actually have similar enough programming and makeup to fuse as well. If my giant Risen monster were to have a genius like myself at its core, then I could have the world bowing to me with zero risk.”

“So in actuality, you just need these Risen to continue living,” Lute said.

“I just explained it. Were you not listening, peasant?” Tetra raised his voice. Lute looked up at him.

“You just revealed more than you thought. With V-Waves reserved for the Ancient Flowers, these Risen and other V-Wave powered Pokémon now have a timer. We’re all going to turn into Risen someday, possibly soon,” he said. Tetra gasped. “You desperately started gathering the Risen here because you realised how short your time is, didn’t you?”

“Stop it! Don’t spout illogical words like that. Why would what I’m telling you be a lie?” Tetra cried.

“What do you mean? You’re the villain here. You’re the most likely to lie to us about stuff,” Esthia said. “But is that really true, Lute? Could Tetra really just turn into a Risen?”

Lute didn’t answer.

“… Could you and Infia turn into a Risen, too?”

“Aww, isn’t that just depressing. The little girl doesn’t want her friend to transform. Too bad it doesn’t matter if you do or don’t. Whether you believe me or not, I’m going to fuse with these Risen. And you’re going to try and stop me, so I’m going to have to do it right now!”

“Yeah. I was thinkin’ it was about time you stopped yammerin’ and challenged us,” Megan said.

“Why would you _want_ to fight him like that?” Leos cried. Tetra laughed at them, diving into the pit.

“’Cos I’m not afraid of some snotty little kid’s threatening story. Whatever’s gettin’ him to talk big, I’ll burn it down to the ground!” Megan cried.

“Have you considered _anything_ that’s been happening right now? That perhaps this is a crisis bigger than anything we might have faced?” Leos said, bouncing in anger. The area began to shake and the Risen were starting to chant and melt. “I mean, we were brought here from another world to deal with this. He can’t be all talk.”

“Just like he says, whether it’s talk or not, we’re going to fight. And ‘cos we’re going to fight, I’m going to fight back at my full strength,” she said.

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cautious and play things in our favour. We had the chance to make a strategy out of this. We could have tactically retreated and regained our bearings, come up with a plan to—”

“You’re not getting it, Leos! I don’t care how big or strong or whatever my foe looks. No matter who they are, if they’re a villain, I’m gonna take ‘em down by burning ‘em to the ground. I don’t let fear or whatever other petty feelings drive me,” she shouted, flaring her back. Leos and the others were surprised, but the Oshawott composed himself with a tug at his bubbly collar.

“This isn’t about letting fear or hesitation drive you, this is about smarts! We have no idea what kind of enemy we’re going up against, so we should—”

“We should focus, that’s what!” Sophitia shouted above them, looking back. Her intense look and tone made them both consider her, and then they instantly regretted arguing.

The pit in the middle of the room was overflowing with Risen sludge that was welling up within. The remaining Risen kept up their chants as they were swept up by it, while the group had to plant their feet to stand their ground. Still, the nasty substance swamped over the smaller members of the group, going as high as Esthia’s neck.

“Okay that’s a bit too much!” she cried, doing her best to keep her arms out of it. Lute, Megan and Leos had to grab her to avoid getting swept away, but their sudden grips made her lose her balance and she fell straight into Sophitia.

It couldn’t have been a nastier experience. Headfirst below a river of thick, muddy sludge that was getting sucked into the hole in the centre of the room. Sophitia let out a noise of effort, stretching all four of her feelers out at random in hopes of grabbing something that could pull her and her friends up. The two attached to her chest ribbon found something and pulled, but the effort and strain on top of holding her breath hurt right away. It earnt a groan and a shiver of effort, but it was too much. She quickly lost her grip and went spiralling toward the pit.

Right before they would be sucked in, a heavy grip yanked the group away and they were flung out of the sludge. All they could do was gasp for breath before they landed in a heap, Megan and Leos being the first to get up and shake themselves off.

“Ugh, not even being Watermarked saves me from this! Pah, this is so nasty, it’s all over my fur and everything,” Mega cried.

“Not even being _water_ type can save from that. It’s gonna take forever to get my white fur back if this stains,” Leos cried, brushing his head crazily.

“So much for being into it. You’re both whining like babies!” Sophitia shouted, pinching them both. A flinch and an embarrassed pout later and the duo realised where they were. Angel had swept them out of the sludge and was rising out of the forest, having a concentrated frown for once.

As she circled the Deadly Pit from above, the group had a full view of the rising sludge as Tetralocke’s ritual took place. The sludge was rising out of the pit and overflowing out of the fortress, creating waterfalls of the stuff that went down into the crater below. The rumbling and vibrations from whatever was coming could be felt from their distance, and soon, a pair of golden eyes gleamed from the centre.

Angel let out a cry of angst and sped up to gain distance, but still she was knocked off-balance by the heavy gush of wind the monster created as it popped out of the world below. Everyone managed to stay latched to her back, and was equally as speechless at the thing Tetra had become.

Colossal was an understatement. Tetra’s Monster standing up went from the depths of the pit to nearly touching the clouds above. It was humanoid with bulky arms that bulged with veins and unidentifiable organs shaping it out, each organ bigger than the group put together. Its general shape was rounded, while Risen sludge made up most of its texture. Said sludge was much darker than the average Risen, as well as being hardened – the sludge didn’t drip or flow, resembling dried wax.

The only parts of its body that weren’t sludge were its face, which had become a giant mask resembling a Klefki’s face, and a scar marking on its chest that looked like stitching. Its eyes gleamed a gold as bright as the sun, whilst its keyhole-shaped mouth had a red glow deep inside. Giant keys of various kinds circled its head like a detached necklace, constantly orbiting the monster.

“Regretting anything yet?” Leos said. “This thing makes Zygarde look wimpy.”

“It’s something, I’ll give it that. But if it’s just a combination of all those little zombie thingies, then it makes no difference,” Megan said, positioning herself at the front of Angel’s tuft. She launched a Flamethrower attack from there, but the attack made a speck of an explosion on the monster’s surface. Megan’s face drooped.

“And you honestly thought that would work,” Leos said, half-lidded.

“Hey you never know until you try. I could’ve melted it or something,” she said.

“Don’t start again you two. Be serious about this!” Lute shouted. “If we don’t do something, that monster is seriously going to destroy most of Aseria!”

“What do we do, though? I doubt even Diancie or Artemis can do something about that thing. It’s so big,” Sophitia said.

“_Everyone, please hold on tight!_” Angel cried.

“What?” Esthia said, and then felt herself get yanked by force as Angel changed direction.

The giant keys broke away from their orbit of the monster and were now swarming towards Angel, blades pointing forward for obvious aggression. Angel could out-speed them, but her attempt to lose their chase were in vain. Every time she twisted and turned sharply through the air, the keys would reposition, never far from their threat of slicing the group to bits if she slowed down.

Lute groaned and growled from the roughness of the flight, but eventually managed to glance back at what was going on. With a growl and a cry, her brought up his Swift attack and threw it as hard as he could. The stars homed in on the gold key and surrounded it in blasts and smoke, which seemed to stop it in place.

“Good idea, Lute,” Sophitia cried, turning her body. She held on with her paws while her feelers formed a Moonblast in front of her mouth. It took three shots, but she managed to hit the bronze key and brought it down. Four keys were left, which were brought down by the group’s combined efforts of attacks.

The whole time, Angel had been making an escape, getting as far away from the Deadly Pit as she could. Once the keys had stopped chasing, she halted in the air and turned to face it, still frowning. Tetra’s Monster had taken entire chunks of the island with its rise, so its back and parts of its arms were covered with woodland and greenery.

“Seriously though, we’re gonna need like a hell of a miracle to take this thing down,” Esthia said. “Think a concentration of attacks at a weak point would do the trick?”

“Wishful thinking. We don’t even know where its weak point is, if it has one. Easy guess is the red bit in its mouth, or the scar. But that’s a wild risk, even for me,” Sophitia said. Silence followed.

“Well we’ve gotta do something,” Esthia cried, glancing at everyone’s unsure looks. They tried not to look at her or the monster.

“I might be able to do it. But I’m going to need everyone’s help,” Leos said. “I’m hoping your world has aura, otherwise this won’t work.”

“Aura? I guess. Just summarize. What’ve we gotta do?” Megan said.

“Oh so now you want to listen.”

“Even I know the time when not to be an ass.”

“There’s an attack I can do, it’s called a Zenryoku Arte. It can instantly destroy any target,” he said, sadly staring at Tetra’s monster. “But in order to do it, I need our hearts to be in sync, and a pose has to be performed.”

“Well that doesn’t sound too hard. We’re only all involved in the same thing right now,” Megan said.

“I wonder if it will work seeing as we just met today,” he said, facing them again. “And of course, we have to brave getting close.”

“Well that’s not a problem. What’s the pose?” Lute said.

Leos gave a groan and then made space on Angel’s back. He crossed his arms and tensed up, unfurled them, stretched them forward while keeping them crossed, and then unfurled as he crouched. He span as he rose back, curling his arms up in an arch shape, ending in a pose resembling the Aries star sign. “Like this. You have to do the motions exactly as I did and in perfect sync. Doing that channels the aura and forms the move.”

There was a long pause and Leos kept the pose the whole time, unbothered by the sceptical looks he was getting. Sophitia soon laughed a bit, stepping forward. “Okay. I’m guessing there’s a ton more to it, but we don’t really have time to explain right now, do we?”

“I only have the strength to do the move once. It’s incredibly tiring,” he said, looking at his hands. “I’m sorry about that.”

“What’s there to be sorry about? One shot to get everything right, huh? We’ve never had the stakes so high,” Sophitia said, smiling eagerly. “Okay you guys, you know how it’s done. Esthia, you’re the best at this sort of thing, so we’ll leave the pose to you. Angel, we’re counting on you to stay balanced and keep us outta trouble. Lute and Megan, us three have gotta keep projectiles off our tails. We got this?”

“We’ve got this,” Lute said. “Leos. You trust us, don’t you?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” he said, looking away.

“Na-uh, we can’t have that attitude. If what I’m getting about your special move is right, then we need to be in the same mindset as we do this. I’m putting my trust in you, so are you putting your trust in us?” Sophitia said.

Leos looked down and mumbled a little. “I’m used to having to rely on Pokémon I’ve just met, but a situation like this is something else. When I say I have no choice, I mean I’m ready to put my life in your paws.”

“You kinda make it’s sound like it’s a bad thing, relying on me. Do I seem like the kinda Pokémon that’d let you down?” Megan said. All eyes turned to her, but no one said anything, making her blush a bit. “Oh geez, thanks guys. Did I say something wrong?”

“Ahaha, I’m gonna miss you two,” Sophitia said.

Angel let out an eager cry and soared forward with a brush of her wings, speeding back toward Tetra’s Monster. The group positioned themselves at her front, glaring at him with eager intent on their faces, though Leos retained focus. Once back in the vicinity of the island, an incredibly low rumble of a voice began to echo through the air, bringing them all to cringe and their pulses to increase.

“Back already?” the voice began. Tetra’s Monster brought up an arm, pointing a palm at them to bring Angel to a stop. “I did not take you for the type to commit suicide.”

“Don’t let him intimidate you. We’ve got this,” Sophitia said, glancing at everyone. They nodded to her. “It ain’t suicide if we come out the victors, hun. And we do not plan on dying anytime soon.”

“You would dare challenge a foe such as me, even seeing what I am. You have not even seen what I am capable of,” he said, lowering that palm. “A foolish mistake and your last. Perhaps it is because you think of yourselves as heroes. But even you cannot elude death. You may have defeated Lassic, but I will not fall to the same mistakes.”

“Let’s do it,” Leos said, positioning himself in the middle. The others nodded and Angel took off. She circled Tetra’s Monster, and although he struggled to turn face her, his orbiting keys gave chase for him.

“One by one, the Spirle High Points fell to their personal emotions on the matters. They had power, but they tarnished it. Their inability to seize full control over Aseria was their undoing,” he said. The entire time he spoke, Angel had to curl around him to avoid the keys. Everyone kept firing their attacks to slow down the keys, as well as firing them directly at the monster’s surface. Nothing had any effect.

“Their hesitation allowed the world to grow hardy Pokémon like yourselves. Pokémon who feel nothing but fortune in their idealistic actions. But in reality, you are ordinary Pokémon. Children. Weak life forms who survived on nothing but words.”

Angel cried out and violently jerked downwards, just about avoiding a swipe of the monster’s arm. A heavy wind still struck the group, taking them off their feet and sending Angel flipping through the air. She caught everyone and promptly took off, once again getting assaulted by the orbiting keys and their attempts to slash her.

“I will not make the same mistake as them. I have unfathomable power. Godly wit. The capability of doing anything I want to. The fate of this entire world is within my grasp, and I will ensure every living things knows it. Those who disobey like yourselves, they will perish.”

Tetra’s Monster raised both its arms to its sides, and as it did so, an incredible force picked up around it, stalling Angel in place. The earth broke apart and rose with its movements, filling the sky with huge bubbles of seawater and chunks of ground.

“Angel, move it!” Sophitia shouted. The Togekiss gave an anxious cry as it flapped its wings and took off again, having to weave between the floating obstacles. They were orbiting the monster the same way the keys were, but it almost looked as they were changing altitude just to ram into her. To make matters worse, Tetra’s Monster could still move, enabling it to try and swing its arm at them again.

“Angel, go up!” Lute cried, patting her back. She took his warning without a second of thought, giving her wings a great flap to ascend straight upward and just about avoid the monster again.

From here, Megan shot out a few quick blasts of Flamethrower to destroy a few chunks of earth they nearly ran into, shrouding a bit of the sky in sooty smoke. Sophitia stretched her feelers out to wrap them around a tree, letting Angel swerve and quickly change direction. A few keys stabbed into a piece of ground they were heading to, looking like it would hit if they hadn’t changed direction.

“Struggle all you will. You cannot harm me. And I will not give you a chance to find a way. You had your chance and you threw it away by challenging me now. I will never allow you so-called heroes to live another day. Soon the world will know my wrath, forever and ever,” Tetra’s Monster said, pointing a palm at the group. A powerful gush of wind came out from the palm, sending the group flying along with a portion of the floating earth and water. Right afterwards, it leaned forward and the red glow in its mouth began to intensify.

By the time Angel had righted herself, she was facing the red glow which resembled a sun in size and brightness. All she could do was gasp and cross her wings in front of herself, desperately guarding as a huge beam fired out, engulfing her entirely. She used Protect right before getting hit, but there was still an intense wave of fire that burnt away at everyone the whole time. Harsh grunts and gritted fangs were all that everyone did to resist the urge to scream.

When it was over, Angel and the group flopped forward and staggered, left sizzling and short of breath, the instant switch to the cold air of the sky stiffening their bodies. Still, Angel remained afloat, slowly raising her head. She and the group were covered with marks of burns and light embers, but they were able to stand up again.

“Everyone okay?” Leos said.

“You don’t need to worry about us. We’ve got this,” Sophitia said, smiling.

Leos was surprised. “What’re you made of?”

“I’ve been hit by worse. Better question is, you’re gonna do that move soon, aren’t ya?” Megan said, flaring her back. Leos tugged at his collar and got a hold of himself.

“Yes. I’ve got this. Drop me off on one of the platforms. Esthia, you go on another one,” he said. “_This is just like that time… back in that golden sky…_”

“Angel, we’re counting on you,” Lute said, and she took off again.

“You cannot resist for ever. Submit to me,” Tetra’s Monster said, rekindling his attacks. With a raise of his arms, more of the earth lifted up. He went right back to trying to swipe the party with his arms while his keys slashed through the air toward them. Angel dodged it all, and then headed toward the monster’s chest where the scar was. Leos hopped off there, stumbling a bit as he landed on a small patch of rock. Esther wasn’t far behind him, landing in a different spot with a twirl and a bow.

“You know, you’re doing an awful lot of talking for someone who’s missing all their attacks,” Sophitia said.

“There is nothing you can do. Your attempts to struggle are being observed. You will not escape forever—”

“Yeah yeah, you don’t know when to shut up, do you? As much as I’d love to have a bad guy chat with you, you overstayed your welcome, big time,” Sophitia said. She crossed her feelers and charged up a Moonblast, while Lute and Megan prepared their Swift and Flamethrower as well.

Angel took off directly towards the monster’s centre, swerving side to side to avoid the islands and sharp keys that attempted to slash her. Flying directly towards the scar, she raised a wing up high and a large blue orb swelled at the tip. She threw her attack with everyone else’s, combining her Air Slash with the flames and light to make one giant beam attack.

The resulting blast recoiled against the group with loud wind and heated smoke, but Tetra’s Monster let out a horrifying roar of pain as well, shifting backwards ever so slightly. The stitches holding its scar together had torn apart, revealing fleshy innards that radiated with a fiery red glow, a similar kind to the one in its mouth.

Right there and then, Leos and Esthia began their act, crossing their arms. The instant they did, the sky darkened and their bodies began to gleam with golden energy, particles of it swarming into them from everywhere.

“Y-you. You think you’re clever, don’t you?” Tetra’s Monster said, glaring down at them.

“We need to keep that wound open. And keep the overs free,” Sophitia said.

“Then let’s go all the way!” Megan said, leaping off Angel’s back. She looked as though she mistimed her jump and went sailing through the air, but it didn’t deter her from shooting her flames all over the place. Meanwhile, Lute, Sophitia, and Angel kept their work up on stopping the keys.

The battle had become focused on one spot, turning into a minefield of blasts and energy firing everywhere. Tetra’s Monster had become stiff while its scar was open, so all it seemed to be able to do was control its keys and the islands of rock. That did make its attacks more violent and tougher to deal with, one of the keys even managing to cut into Angel a bit.

Before they knew it, the glow had grown blinding even without them staring at it. All eyes went to Leos, who was surrounded by a huge sphere of golden, glittery light. His scalchop had grown into a giant Razor Shell in the shape of a scythe, and he was glaring up at Tetra’s Monster with a tired glare. He met the monster’s eyes perfectly.

“I’m giving you ten seconds,” was all he said. There was a pause.

“Is this a joke? Are you threatening me? Has the damage of this battle been lost on you so far? The likes of you cannot harm me!”” Tetra’s Monster said.

Leos sighed. “Didn’t even use the ten seconds.”

With a stomp of his foot, countless copies of himself appeared, each one holding double-sided Razor Shell attacks like lances. They flew into the air at high speed, stabbing and slashing at the monster all over its body. What was expected to be a miniscule attack that wouldn’t harm it at all turned out to hurt enough to earn grunts and flinches. Every Razor Shell that hit remained in its body as well, stabbing it right through until the blade pointed out the opposite end. Within seconds, the scar was surrounded by blue beams of light from lingering blades, and Tetra’s Monster had leaned back in agony.

That wasn’t the end of the attack, either. Still clothed in a golden glow, Leos’ aura spiked into a fiery burst as he span his scythe around in his arms. When he grasped it, the weapon grew to absurd length, and he thrust it straight into the scar. A wicked roar split the sky, which was silenced when he drew the weapon straight up, sending a clean cut straight up the centre of the monster, slicing it in two. White light gushed from the space between the cut, trailing from head to toe.

“I-Impossible… where… how did you get this much power?” Tetra’s Monster said. “No… after everything I did… what I became… who… who are you?”

Leos took a moment to respond, still surrounded by aura as his weapon vanished. “I’m Leos. Leos Aska, pioneer of light.”

Tetra’s Monster stopped cringing, returning to its original pose even though the light was still gushing from its cut. The glow of its eyes and mouth had dimmed to nothing. “I have seen power. Power that none of you can comprehend. And it does not belong to me.”

Leos raised an eyebrow, while Sophitia focused.

“Yes… I became an ‘archfiend’. But I am but the first of many archfiends. My reign did not even begin, but in the future, perhaps many generations after you are gone… what will you do then? Will you travel through space and time as you have now?”

“Or will you allow darkness to reign?”

An incredible rumble began to take over the area, shockwaves powerful enough to pin everyone back and stop them in place. The platforms, orbs of water, and the orbiting keys lost whatever magic was holding them up and began to fall into the world below, soon followed by Tetra’s Monster splitting in two. All that was between its two halves was light rather than the expected flesh or organs, and those halves began to evaporate into dust.

And then, in a blinding flash and brief brush of light particles, Tetra’s Monster was gone. The island was left in unfathomable ruin, with chunks of earth littered all over the place to make broken terrain. Parts of the island were drowned too, while giant keys of various kinds were left poking out of the sea. Up in the sky remained two golden glows, portals sat in front of Angel.

“More archfiends,” Sophitia mumbled.

“You’re not worried, are you?” Lute said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? If we face more foes like that, I don’t know if we’ll get something like Leos to help us deal with it again,” she said. She turned to the Oshawott who was panting like he’d run a marathon, floored on one paw. “Speaking of, awesome work out there! What was that move?”

“The Zenryoku Arte?” he huffed, trying to stand. He nearly stumbled off Angel’s back, getting caught by Megan.

“Keep it together, will ya? Wouldn’t do to have ya kicking the bucket now,” she said.

“It’s a special technique discovered by Constellars who channel the power of the stars to use their powers. But it’s normally reserved for Constellar Lords or other high positions like myself,” he said. “The attack I use has the specific effect of felling any foe without fail, so long as it hits directly. That’s why they’re so exclusive.”

“It’s amazing. Glad I was able to see it in action,” Sophitia said, bowing. “We have a lot to thank you two for, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get the chance to do it.”

“Sophitia?” Lute said, and she pointed to the two portals.

“Looks like our hunch was right on the money. Beating that guy got you two a ticket back home. I doubt those are gonna stick around forever though, so you better get going,” Esthia said. “Oh, wait a minute! Before you go!”

“We have to go… already?” Megan said. Esthia squeezed the bow on her chest, turning into a ball of light. She separated back into Esther and Infia. “Ah, really? You’re doing this _now_?”

“She probably wants them to see you off properly,” Sophitia said, smiling. “I know I’m gonna miss you guys, though. If you could’ve stayed here, I would’ve invited you to join the team, you know.”

“That’s an honour. Thank you,” Leos said, smiling as well.

“We didn’t even get to eat anything… or see anything outside of that island… or the stuff in the sky… geez, being a heroine sucks sometimes,” Megan groaned.

“Oh. She brought us back when you were leaving,” Esther said. “That sucks even more. I didn’t even get to chat to you properly.”

“Or get to know an Oshawott,” Infia said, hanging her head.

“Hey don’t worry about that. You’re not missing much. This guy’s pretty nerdy,” Megan said.

“A nerd that saved all your lives instead of whining all the time,” Leos said.

“Ohoho. We’re brave, aren’t we? Wanna square down, right here?” Megan said.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to get back to? You did say he was useless on his own.”

“Grrk. He can wait a little while for me to kick your ass.”

“Urf. Maybe it’s better you come from different worlds. You two don’t get along well at all,” Lute groaned, and the others set off giggling. “For real, though. We owe you two a lot. It’s a real shame you have to go so soon. But if we somehow do meet again… well, hopefully we can show you around.”

“It would be my pleasure, Lute. The same goes for if you find your way to Etheria. Hopefully we can meet on happier circumstances,” Leos said, shaking Leos’ paw.

“Urgh, he’s so fancy about it all. But I guess you’re not too bad or anything. I’d hang out, but I’d kinda wanna look around your world for myself. I prefer exploring like that,” Megan said, rubbing her face. She moaned a little, struggling to look at Infia. “And uh, erm… look, sorry about earlier, okay?”

Infia waved a paw. “It’s okay. I overreacted, too. But you put your money where your mouth is, so you’re fine.”

“Well uh… You do too, you know. Even though you have to wear that and stuff… I’m not gonna lie… y-you’re pretty cute and stuff?” she said, going bright red. Infia’s eyes widened and everyone else went quiet. “I dunno if that was the right thing to say or anything, just saying what I’m thinking, okay? Don’t look at me like that!”

“Megan… okay,” Infia said, smiling.

“Grr, yeah alright! Whatever. Enough of the sappy stuff, I’m outta here! Come find me if you’re serious about that exploration stuff,” Megan cried, turning around. She jumped into one of the portals at random, and it vanished soon after.

“Geez, she didn’t even wait to check if it was the right one,” Leos said with a sigh.

“She probably makes her boyfriend very happy though, don’t you think?” Esther said. Leos tilted his head. “Never mind. You stay cool out there too, okay?”

Leos bowed. “Thank you very much. And good luck to all of you.”

He didn’t wave as jumped into his own portal, and just like that, he was gone. The others couldn’t help but sit there for a little while, and sat back to relax.

“An Oshawott hero. He called himself a hybrid. And Megan, a Watermarked Pokémon,” Lute said quietly. He started smiling brightly. “There’s all sorts of amazing stuff out there that we haven’t seen yet. I can’t believe they were here so suddenly, and just like that, they’re gone.”

“It’s totally the stuff outta those super cool fantasy legends, ain’t it? I know what I’m doing for my next performance, that’s for sure. Or maybe like, the next five or ten!” Esther cheered. “Now I dunno about you guys, but Esthia kinda burned out all my strength. I could eat a Ponyta.”

“That’s a good call. I imagine everyone saw what happened here, too,” Sophitia said. “Let’s go home! And get something to eat. Heh. Kuri’s gonna be so mad he missed all this.”

“Mum’s not gonna stop asking questions once she learns an Oshawott was here, though,” Lute grumbled.

“So we’re heading off to another big battle? We never stop, do we?” Infia moaned, falling on her back.

“Hey, we don’t back down from a challenge. We can beat this,” Lute said.

As Angel turned back to Everend to take off, Sophitia couldn’t help but look back at the Deadly Pit and where the portals were. The sky was silent.

“_The Archfiends, huh? Maybe that’s a tale for another generation. So that’s my duty, now. To prepare for the Archfiends…_”


End file.
